


The Journey

by AerithFaremis



Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Betrayal, Drama & Romance, Multi, Mystery, Women Empowerement
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:01:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 42,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25405807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AerithFaremis/pseuds/AerithFaremis
Summary: A reign that was at peace begins to fragment when betrayal occurs between people of the same blood, and from this moment on, the ancestral order that the world was following for years begin to be revolutionized. Having to run away from home, Aerith begins a journey to find herself and the hidden power that will allow her to regain what once belonged to her.[Medieval Fantasy - Alternative Universe]
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife, Sephiroth/Original Character, Zack Fair/Tifa Lockhart
Comments: 36
Kudos: 67





	1. I. The Book Of The Sorcerer

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome!! ^^  
> This is going to be a long story and I hope you enjoy it! Feel free to leave a comment if you want, and I will happily read it! ^^
> 
> Some things to take into account:  
> *This story is an AU Medieval Fantasy.  
> *Some characters can be slightly OOC in order to fit the story better (but not too OOC).  
> *There will be descriptions of blood/death/ in case you are sensitive with these topics. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!! ^^

**_H_** _is_ heavy steps echoed through the stone floor that covered the central square of the city of Midgar, leaving behind a trail of blood, which dripped and came from something rounded that he carried between his strong hands, covered by leather gloves. A circle of people had formed around him, but none of them dared to lift their eyes and fix them to his imposing figure. They feared suffering the same fate as the rest of the people who, now, were only flesh and blood and who hung on the pikes.

She approached one of those dying bodies and looked at him. Tiny drops of sweat ran across his forehead and his cheeks were swollen. His lips trembled in a whisper, similar to a prayer, a plea for his soul that was about to vanish from that world. She touched his face in a gesture of mercy, trying to save his life, but when the dying man plunged his eyes into hers, she panicked, because she knew very well the owner of that disembodied face.

Aerith woke up, like every night since she had that nightmare, right after approaching the man hanging from the pike. Although in her dream she was only able to see his face in a blurred way, her heart could recognize him and that was why she woke up, startled. The young woman would not care so much if it was just a nightmare that had only assaulted her once, but it was a recurring dream that must have some kind of hidden meaning.

She sighed slowly, trying to regain her gasping breath with one hand on her chest. She realized that the fire on her chimney, which kept her room warm and dimly lit at night, had gone out completely, so she tried to accommodate her bright green eyes to the gloom of the night. She rubbed her temples and laid down again, trying to rest a little longer and wishing with all her strength that the nightmare would not recur.

A few hours later, she felt the first rays of dawn enter through her window. The lilac and orange shades illuminated her porcelain face in an ethereal way, giving it a certainly supernatural look. She frowned slightly and her eyelids trembled before waking up at all, and stretched her arms over her head, pulling them out from under the wool blanket and feeling the cold autumn breeze caressing her skin.

Fortunately, that strange dream had not taken place in her mind again, so she could rest a little longer, but it was still something she could not stop thinking about for the rest of the day. She was a person whose belief was that dreams send hidden messages, messages to which one had to pay attention in order to be able to decipher, at least, before it was too late. And that spooky series of images was trying to tell her something, something she had to understand as soon as possible.

She was pulled out of her thoughts by the soft blow of knuckles against the door.

“Come in” she muttered, her voice somewhat hoarse from the hours of sleep. When the door opened, a woman dressed in a brown and green dressed in domed sleeves, an amber apron and corset and a blond bun entered her room. She was carrying a silver tray with bread, ham and water.

“Good morning, your Highness” the maid greeted, with a warm smile on her face, where the first wrinkles began to appear around her lips.

“Good morning, Elmyra. You know you don’t need to call me ‘your highness’” Aerith rebuked her, tenderly.

“If your father heard me call you Aerith…” Elmyra said, as she laid the silver tray in her hands on a wooden table, and began to serve the water and ham “I am sure your Majesty would dislike such trusting.”

“Except he’s not here to listen to us now” the girl contradicted, standing up. A small shiver ran through her body from top to bottom as her bare feet touched the cold stone floor. She quickly approached her wardrobe and pulled from it a flowing, light green tunic up to her ankles and took off her nightgown. She girded her robe with a golden belt and then got closer to the table for breakfast, not without giving the maid a little hug.

“Thank you very much”, Aerith muttered.

“I will leave you alone to have a quiet breakfast” Elmyra said, bowing her head in a reverence. However, the young lady stopped her before she could cross the threshold of the door.

“Wait, Elmyra” she began to fiddle with a wavy lock of brown hair, which fell on her back in long waves. “What do you think about dreams?”

Elmyra seemed somewhat stunned by that unexpected question. What could she think about dreams? She was just a simple maid who worked from sunrise to sunset, washing dishes and clothes, tending the lords of the household, giving orders to the rest of the servants…she ended up so exhausted that she barely had time to dream. But she did remember what it felt like when she let her imagination flow, and how, when she closed her eyes, she could see things, fantastic things that she was sure would never come true.

“I have not dreamt in a long time, your…Aerith.” she explained. “But, when I used to do it, I felt happy. I wanted to close my eyes and fall asleep early so I could go back to that world where I had something to eat and I was not a poor child with clothes full of holes.”

The young woman smiled tenderly at her, feeling sorry for her. When Elmyra came home, she was just a baby and did not remember her, but her father had told her many times how the woman was about to die when she arrived with the soles of her feet full of cuts and bleeding wounds, begging for a simple glass of water to drink. Since then, she had become the maid of the family.

“But…” continued Aerith “what if it’s not a happy dream? Is it necessary to give importance to dreams, even if they are not happy?”

The maid rubbed her chin, thinking of those words. For her, dreams were dreams and did not transcend to real life, because nothing she had ever dreamed of had ever become tangible. However, the fact that the young woman had insisted with her questions made her see that there was something that worried her.

“Dreams are desires, whether good or bad. They have never come true, at least, the ones I have had.” Elmyra said “but…is there something on your mind?”

Aerith bit her lip, hesitant. Was it right to bother Elmyra with her foolish dreams and meaningless worries? Sharing with her what she had envisioned for some time was an imperative need and made her heart beat strongly within her chest, but nevertheless, she was afraid to explain not even one of the images she had seen in her mind, for fear they would come true just by naming them.

“No, nothing worries me, Elmyra.” she replied, shaking her head “it was mere curiosity.”

*

The city of Midgar was a powerful kingdom of stone houses and slate roofs that stood behind the Wasteland Mountains. Its striking circular shape was crowned by the center with the Grey Castle, where the Faremis family resided, the current royalty of the metropolis.

The Faremis consisted of King Gast and his daughter, Aerith – the eldest – and his son, Sephiroth, only one year younger than his sister. Princess Aerith would soon begin preparing to become the future heir to the throne, a title held by many other powerful figures from other countries in the world. But anyone who wanted to take over Midgar’s reign knew very well what they would have to deal with once they took command: with a part of the impoverished and starving people who tried to shout louder in the face of injustice and with a few kings and queens who dedicated honeyed words to the monarch while trying to poison their wine glasses and seize power.

Gast Faremis was aware of all these problems, but it was not something he had not already learnt to deal with in the twenty years of reign he carried behind his back. He was a strict and severe king and kept problems at bay with certain scarcity of delicacy and compassion. His children were aware of his lack of empathy and tried to reason with him from time to time, but he ended up discrediting his opinions and disregarding his advice. However, the monarch had a special appreciation for his firstborn, Aerith, for whom he always showed his affection. The same could not be said for his son, Sephiroth.

As far as Gast could remember, he did not hate him from the day he was born. The monarch had never hidden his desire to have a son, someone to teach to how to handle the sword, with whom to talk about ships and war strategies. But the relationship between the two was strained by the time Sephiroth had a fatal accident riding a horse and became lame in one leg, which greatly reduced his mobility. All the dreams and illusions he had placed in his son vanished with a stroke, and the dreamt knight ended up being his economic advisor.

But that was not enough for Sephiroth to get rid of his father’s constant contempt and disdain for him. Gast did not mind ridiculing his son in public, mocking him. He even enjoyed it when the other nobles laughed at his limp and removed the staff that helped him walk faster. However, his father’s contempt had not made a dent in his character for the time being. Sephiroth was a kind, timid and even withdrawn man who worshipped his sister above all else.

He was reading a book in the castle’s huge library, focused on the letters that danced from one side of the paper to the other. It was a book about the best fencing poses, because despite his father’s scorn and his lameness, he was secretly taking classes with Evan, the smith, to improve his attack. Evan said he had unmatched power and style and, even though he always reminded him that he was lame and that he could not fight a war, he was a good man and had a deep friendship with him.

_“Maybe you cannot be a soldier, but you can be a commander, your highness” was what Evan always told him, when they finished their fencing lessons in the Courtyard of Light and the orange rays of sunset gave the city a warm look._

_“My father didn’t even give me a chance” complained Sephiroth, denying with his head while his hair, of a strange silver color, moved at the same time of his movements “he entrusted me to be the Master of Coin and that is what I will be for life.”_

_“Perhaps your sister will be more gracious to you when she rules and make you commander of her Army, your highness.”_

_Commander of her Army._ Those words made him stop at his reading, lifting his thin finger from the shriveled paper and looking out into nowhere. But, would it help if his sister made him commander of an army when even the jesters laughed at him with whispers as he passed by?

Earning people’s respect was not about having a name, and that was something Sephiroth knew very well. He had one and it was of no use to him whatsoever.

“Are you reading the wall, your grace?” he heard a sweet voice behind his back and instantly felt his cheeks turn red.

“Dana, what are you doing here? You should be at the river, with the other maidens” he mused, closing the book and standing.

“I don’t think it takes so many maidens to do the laundry” she crooned, clasping her hands in front of her skirt and staring at him with a tender smile.

Sephiroth had not traveled to many parts of the world, nor did he need, to affirm that Dana was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her skin had the same color as roasted wheat, and her eyes were big and brown, framed by long, dark eyelashes. Her smile of prominent lips, was always tender to him and her brown, wavy hair fell smoothly around her face, giving her an angelic appearance.

“Even so, you’ll have trouble if my father finds out that…” he started talking, but she interrupted him.

“I am sorry to ask, your grace, but do you always have your father in mind?” she came a little closer to the man, much taller than she and looked at him “please, I would like you to read me some new book, your highness.”

The love of reading was something they shared. Sephiroth did not remember exactly how it had been the first time they had spoken, but he knew it had been in that same library, when he surprised her one afternoon by passing her delicate fingers through the covers of the books, an interested look on her face. At that time, he offered to read her one of the stories – his sister said there was no one in Midgar’s kingdom who told the tales better than he did – and since then, they shared that little secret.

Although the times Dana showed interest in wanting to learn to read, the young man could not prevent his eyes, of an intense aquamarine color, deviating from pages somewhat damaged by time, and setting them on her cheeks, counting the small and almost imperceptible freckles she had.

“If you are not busy, your grace” she hastened to say, realizing that he had remained silent for a little while.

“I have nothing to do right now” he replied, half smiling “which one do you want to read? We could finish the one we started the other day.”

“The one about a sorcerer?”

“Yes, that one”

He took a quick look at the bookshelves looking for the one with a green cover and, as he did, he could not help but feel Dana’s body getting closer to his. Her scent of lavender invaded his nostrils and he had to suppress the fervent urge to close his eyes and enjoy her fragrance.

“I will help you look for it” she muttered, leaning slightly on his arm to stand on tiptoe. Sephiroth tried not to concentrate on the heat emanating from that point on his arm and both continued the unceasing search for the book.

“Here it is!” he said between his teeth, and when the two found it, they touched it at the same time, unable to prevent their hands from touching delicately.

“Oh” the maiden giggled, though she kept her hand on his longer than necessary. He did not make a great effort to pull away his hands either “What a coincidence that we found it at the same time”.

The two dropped their hands slowly and stayed close, though Sephiroth clutched the green covered book with his left hand, which threatening to dent.

“Absolutely…” he whispered, avoiding looking at her. He knew that, if he did, having her within inches of his face, he would be lost. He could hear her breathing, deep and slow, right next to him and, if he concentrated, even the beating of her eyelashes as her eyes flickered.

Then, he felt it. It was a brief pressure and if he had been distracted he might not have noticed it. Her lips gently landed on his cheek and he held his breath. It was as if a feather had grazed his flesh and skin, and the tingling he felt afterwards from his jaw to his neck was one of the most pleasurable sensations of his life. He struggled with all his might to contain the urge to grab her wrist, squeeze her against his chest and kiss those lips that even the best books of love would not match.

“You will never notice, will you, your grace?” she asked, sighing. She seemed a bit despondent to see that the man she had just kissed had not even returned a gesture of affection. Perhaps, Dana thought, it was time to realize that her life was not going to change like those of the maidens in the books Prince Sephiroth used to read her. Maybe it was time to realize that what made the difference between the two was much more consistent and much more difficult than dodging the dreams of a girl in love. Plebs and kings would never eat at the same table.

“Realize, Dana? What do you mean?” he questioned. Although perhaps he knew very well what answer he wanted to hear from her, he was still afraid to take things for granted.

“Nothing, your grace” she replied, elusive. “Come, let us read that book at once.”

*

The hours passed without any special news for the man in the metal helmet, who stood guard at the door of King Gast. Through the metal assembly, his strangely light blue eyes scanned the deserted corridor of golden and grey walls, while his trained ears could hear the tearing of the pen against the paper in a laborious letter that the monarch was finishing at the other side of the door.

Although the man in the helmet preferred to be on the battlefield, wielding his sword and defeating the enemies of the Crown, like the sworn knight that he was, it was an honor to protect the safety of his king in that way. At only the age of twenty – one, he had become the personal escort of Gast Faremis and also the envy of the rest of the knights in the country. Not everyone had the opportunity, from such a young age, to wear the helmet with the family coat of arms, the lily and the bow of arrows, which distinguished him from the rest of the soldiers of the Royal Army.

A slim, short figure approached slowly, hands clasped and gazing upwards. The man in the helmet grabbed the handle of his sword and waited until the figure was at his height.

“I would like to speak to your Majesty” announced the man. He had black hair combed back with a certain elegance. His physical attractiveness was evident, pronounced by that perfectly trimmed beard and those black, vigorous eyes. The man in the helmet recognized him instantly. He was one of the king’s close friends, Lord Reeve Tuesti, the Master of the Crown’s Town Planning.

“I will announce you, my lord” said the man in the helmet. He knocked on the door twice and, when he heard the signal, went into the king’s private chamber.

Gast Faremis was sitting behind his oak and walnut table, which had some lilies engraved on the corners. At that very moment, his thin hands put a golden seal to the letter that had just been finished and, hearing the door opened, he raised his hazel eyes and stuck them into the young man who had just entered.

“Your Majesty” the man in the helmet bowed “Lord Tuesti would like to see you now”

“Send him in”

He gestured to Lord Tuesti and he stepped into the chamber, his dark gray cloak hanging over one shoulder scraping the stone floor, making a hissing sound.

“You may go” the king indicated, and after bowing again, the man in the helmet went away, leaving the two lords alone.

“Your Majesty, I am sorry to have come unannounced before”, apologized Reeve, sitting opposite Gast after he waved to him, “but, as you asked me to come urgently to you when I had news, I thought it would be appropriate.”

“No need to justify yourself, Lord Tuesti” he replied, “Tell me about this news.”

Reeve smiled. His face, slightly shadowed by the dim light of the room, gave him a certain mysterious look. It seemed as if this man of neat clothing and great appeal was a box full of secrets that was about to open wide and reveal everything he knew.

“As you well know, your Majesty…I have eyes everywhere. And, frankly, the progress I have made makes me proud. Let’s just say that I’ve found the…the _clue_ you asked for.”

“And what is it about?” asked the king, curiously, sliding the card in his hand to the side of the table and staring at his interlocutor.

“Simple things of life I fear, your Majesty. Nothing less than… a maiden” explained Lord Tuesti, squeezing his hands slowly.

Gast let out a slight snort and frowned.

“I expected no less from Sephiroth. So that’s what it was all about…” the king mused.

“What would you have me to do, your Majesty?” Reeve hurriedly asked.

“Tell me something, Lord Tuesti” began Gast, in a murmur “do you remember the legend of Diro, the soldier of the dawn?”

Reeve nodded his head, though somewhat hesitantly as he did not understand where the whole conversation was headed. “He was an unbeatable knight, everyone was afraid of him,” said the king “No one wanted to wield the sword against him because they knew they wouldn’t have a chance, that they would die and that Diro would show no mercy. But, there was someone, an intelligent man with no name, who set out to defeat him. That unknown man chased Diro day and night without him noticing. Weeks, months, years – the tireless smart knew his routines by heart. And then, he found the _clue_.”

There was a little silence before the king went on with his story. “She was… a beautiful lady. Sarah. Her hair was golden as the sun and her eyes the same color as the sky. Diro loved her madly and protected her as if she were his most precious treasure. But nothing can protect you from a sharper mind than your own. Do you know what the unknown man did?”

Reeve urged him to continue nodding his head.

“He killed Sarah with an arrow shot on her way to the market. And the unbeatable Diro committed suicide shortly thereafter, unable to endure such pain and grief by invading his soul”, concluded the monarch. It didn’t take another word for Lord Tuesti to understand what he needed from him.

“I’ll be that unknown man, your Majesty.”

*

Aerith put the flowers on the grave with a long sigh. It was a beautiful bouquet of gardenias and hyacinths that she had picked from the garden she used to tend some afternoons, when her duties as a princess allowed her to do so. She gently brushed the marble and granite with which they had built the tomb and read the name it was written on it: _Ifalna Faremis_.

Her mother had died a few years earlier and Aerith always wondered what the reason was for her death. Her father never wanted to talk about her, in fact, both she and her brother were strictly forbidden to name her. The young princess wondered, with regret, what could have happened to her mother and why she didn’t have a statue tomb like the other nobles. Ciro, the cook, had once explained to her when she was younger that people who had not been good in life were not given a statue for their graves when they died, but Aerith found it hard to believe that this was the reason her mother had none.

She remembered her as a smiling woman, radiating light wherever she went. When her body was brought in – which she was never allowed to see – everyone from the servants to her father and brother wept in great pain and three days of silence were decreed in the capital. No one could say a word until the mourning was over.

“You’re the only one who keeps bringing mother flowers.” He heard his brother’s deep voice behind her and smiled slightly, closing her eyes.

“And yet I am not the only one who keeps coming to visit her” she said, looking at him sideways. Sephiroth approached her without looking at her, his eyes wandering over his mother’s grave with a somewhat heavy gesture. Aerith wondered if perhaps her brother needed answers about his mother’s fateful end as well, or if, on the contrary, he had settled for silence and learned to move on. She opened her mouth to answer, but he stepped forward and spoke first:

“I remember her as if it were yesterday. She always came to wake us up with kisses on our cheeks and to ruffle our hair. There wasn’t a day when she didn’t tell us that we had grown an inch taller” he said, with a certain nostalgic tone in his voice.

Aerith closed her mouth and her pink lips curled into a tender smile.

“Do you remember when he took you to Nurse Telly because you swallowed three fishes alive?” said the girl and stifled a giggle. Sephiroth rolled his eyes and allowed himself to burst out laughing.

“I should never have listened to Doran’s boy. I had never seen mother run so fast through the streets of Midgar. I think she even left her shoes at the palace.”

They remained silent, each wandering through their memories of those happy times when life was much easier and more candid, where the only injuries that existed were those to their knees when they fell from playing around in the Grey Castle.

“What could have happened in Junon?” Aerith muttered then, although her brother was so lost in his thoughts that he did not even hear her.

Their parents had traveled to Junon, in order to strengthen ties with other countries on the continent. In addition, the coastal city of Junon had extensive experience in the naval market, making it an ally to be reckoned with in the event of war. But something happened on that trip between her parents and _that_ family, the Lords of Junon, that neither Aerith nor Sephiroth had ever found out. Everything changed after their parents returned from the coastal city and their relationship began to crack and become fragile. Her mother, too, had lost some of that light and joy that characterized her and had become very thin.

“Someday, perhaps, we can find out why mother doesn’t have a statue” her brother said, running a hand over her shoulder and bringing her to him in a small embrace.

As they walked back inside the Castle, Sephiroth decided to ask his sister’s advice about a problem he had been thinking about for quite some time.

“Aerith, I want to ask you something”

“Mm, what is it?” she asked, arching an eyebrow in curiosity.

“You know how complicated female language is sometimes. And…a man must be enlightened on such matters, too.” he muttered, though he noticed his cheeks starting to turn a slight pink that did not go unnoticed by his sister. However, she let him take his time to tell her more. “Why would you kiss a man on the cheek and then ask him if he didn’t notice…something?”

The young princess frowned, puzzled by such question, and blinked several times before answering.

“Well…” she said, finally, in a somewhat mischievous voice. “If I were to kiss a knight on the cheek it is because… I want him to know that I like him”.

“Wh…what do you say?” Sephiroth repeated, stunned.

“Come, come here” said Aerith then, without further ado. She grabbed his arm and pulled him, both of them off the path they were walking on, and led him to a garden full of flowers at the back of the castle. Not quite understanding what his sister was planning, Sephiroth was silent, expectant.

Aerith lifted her green dress slightly and squatted in front of a rose bush. She plucked a large, bright red rose and handed it to Sephiroth, who held it delicately between his fingers.

“They are Dana’s favorite” said Aerith suddenly, winking at him.

Sephiroth looked at her with wide eyes and had to fight the urge to drop his jaw, completely surprised. How had she realized it was her? Had anyone else see them? Had Dana talked to anyone about their secret reading moments?

“I’ve seen you in the library a few times” added Aerith, as if she had read his thoughts. She clasped her hands behind her back and swung back and forth with a tender smile. Her eyes were glowing with emotion. “Are you going to tell me you have no feelings for her?”

“It’s…complicated. And you know it very well” replied his brother, pursing his lips in a thin line.

“When I become a queen, all that will change” she promised “In the meantime…show Dana that you’ve noticed it too, and give her this flower. Come on, be brave! There’s no time to lose!” she encouraged him, her cheeks rosy and her face bright.

Finally, Sephiroth sighed, looking up at the beautiful flower between his fingers.

“I will.”

*

Sunset was coming as Sephiroth walked through the vast corridors of the Castle, heading swiftly for the servants’ quarters. He knew very well where Dana’s was, for he had once accompanied her to her chambers when the reading had extended into the evening. He could not deny that he was somewhat nervous, for for many years he had known only the rejection and the contempt of others, except for his sister, who had always encouraged him to go on. And although something told him that maybe this time there was hope and that Dana was different, he could not help but have that little twinge of fear in the back of his soul.

He walked down the stone stairs, distracted by the echo of his boots hitting the ground in a rhythmic tinkle. Dana’s room was the last one in the hall, the smallest, for she had been the maiden who had joined the family not long before.

Something caught his attention, however. He noticed that Dana’s door was ajar, something unusual for a girl who always liked to keep it closed and locked. The man could not help but frown and squeezed the rose between his fingers. Maybe Dana had left the door open by mistake.

His hands brushed against the wood that covered the door and then he saw everything. Her body was hanging from the canopy of the bed and her shoes had fallen off, untidy on the floor. From her cheek ran what had been the last of her tears, and those brown eyes that once were full of love were now closed forever, as the maiden’s life faded with the last lights of the dusk.


	2. II. The Nameless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! Another chapter!! I am really happy for the support I've received!! Thank you very much!! ^^
> 
> I really hope you like this one! Feel free to leave a comment if you want and I will happily read it! ^^

_Mideel, Forest of Silence_

**T** he day Jessie was born was the hottest day of that summer twenty – three years ago. Her mother, when she was alive, told her that the bells rang up to six times after her birth and that hams, cured cheese, wine and freshly picked grapes were brought to her house.

Since she was very young, she liked to play with sticks and stones and believed she was a very powerful warrior that nobody could beat. She also loved going to see the masked balls and theatre performances that took place in her town and, if she liked a story, she was able to learn the script by heart and repeat it at home, imitating the poses, voices and gestures of the actors and actresses.

But her adolescence was not easy. Jessie came from a wealthy family in the city of Midgar, but her father had died shortly before she was born and her mother suffered from a terrible chickenpox that ended her life when she was only twelve. And it did not matter that you lived in the upper town or that your parents had been lords of some land beyond the metropolis that produced wheat. When you were a parentless child in a huge city where everyone was looking over their shoulder, you became a _nobody_. Lady Jessie Raspberry changed her name to Jessie and wandered the streets, barefoot and in ragged clothing, trying to find something to eat.

Jessie, the nobody, thought she was going to die soon. She thought she was close to the abyss and experienced the same sensations as her grandmother, Lady Elizabeth Raspberry, told her that she felt before she died: fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, heaviness in her legs…and when she once fell in the middle of the grey streets of Midgar and was kicked and pushed by people who did not ever deign to help her, she felt that “her hour” had come.

But then, strong arms lifted her up and carried her. The little that Jessie could see at that time, through her half – closed orange brown eyes, was a beautiful black skin, and a strange tattoo on his forearm, near his shoulder.

When she woke up, shortly after, she was on a boat to Mideel, a small village hidden in the Forest of Silence, in the southeast of the world. She could see in front of her a black, tall, strong man with short hair and dark, stark eyes. His chest was covered with a gray vest with gold embroidery and on the side of his heart was a coat of arms with a red feather. It looked as if the man had been watching over her sleep the entire way.

His name was Barret and he explained that, like her, he too had been a nobody for many years, but that he now belonged to _The Nameless_ , a group made up of all those people in Midgar who were in danger because they did not belong to any family.

Mideel was very different from Midgar. It was a small village of wooden houses and surrounded by forest and bushes. The air was fresh and the smell of pine and ash was in the atmosphere. Jessie realized that, although she did not share a physical resemblance with them, the citizens were very much like her, in the sense that they had all been repudiated from the great metropolis and had found in the small village a place to live together.

Barret quickly became like a father to her, caring for and protecting her. Jessie also had the opportunity to have brothers and sisters in her new home and could say that she got along especially well with Biggs, another orphan from the village. Biggs was one of the most attractive boys Jessie had ever seen and he had an unknown accent for her. He said that, although he had lived at Midgar since he was a child, he had not lost the southern accent his parents had raised him with until they starved to death after the Emperor’s War, which pitted the former power of Corel against Midgar.

“Someday I may visit the land where I was born” was what Biggs always said, looking at the vast blue sky that covered them.

“Do you remember where it was?”

“Beyond Hotsands, in a little village called Teria.”

“And what’s Teria like?”

Biggs told her that Teria was named after Teria the Sphinx, who reigned in the southern lands. It was the most luminous place in the world, because the Sphinx had placed the Sun just above its sandy soil so that it would always fill the path of its inhabitants with light and guide them in their lives. There, as Biggs said, were no coat of arms, no surnames, no lords and ladies. Let alone kings and queens to obey and that the people shared everything they had because they belonged to a big family. Once a year Wheat and Flower Day was celebrated and the Terians brought gifts and offerings to the tomb of the Sphinx, so that it would give them a fruitful year of harvest.

“It looks like a happy place.”

“I don’t know if it’ll be happy yet. That was something my parents told me” he answered.

“Someday, I’ll go home too” Jessie replied.

“Visiting, like me?”

Jessie shook her head.

“No. To stay”

“Why? Aren’t you happy here?”

“I’m _happy_ here. Barret gave me a chance to keep living and I’ll owe him my life forever. But he had to carry me out of Midgar because people were pushing me around and trampling me for not having a name and being poor. I want to go back to that city and make a change.”

They stood in silence for a few moments before Biggs spoke again in a whisper:

“But for that…you’ll have to be very strong”.

“And not only that. I also need an army”.

“Why does it take an army to make people happy?” asked Biggs, frowning.

“Because the kings and queens who don’t make those people happy are very powerful, and won’t leave if no one kills them first and the city surrenders” she explained, sighing.

“Hm…and where are you going to find that army?”

“Don’t worry. I’ve got it all under control. I just need to use my words.”

“And you think they’ll follow you?” he questioned.

“Why wouldn’t they follow me?” she asked, frowning intently and clenching one of her fists. Biggs seemed so oblivious to her reaction, so he did not measure his words before continuing.

“Because you are a woman. Armies do not follow women”.

Jessie looked away. When she arrived at Mideel a few years ago, Barret taught her to fight like the other children. For him, there was no distinction due to gender, for, in his own words, “everyone born human has to learn to fight in order to survive”. The young woman handled her bow and dagger with great ease, was agile and could knock down any person or beast that came her way. Besides, she considered that she had the most important thing you can have when you want to fight for something: passion. And when someone has passion, they are unstoppable.

“I’ll give you a quick lesson in how the world works, Biggs” she said. “Armies follow power. And power is in the hands of those who are smart enough to use it. But also, in the hands of those with enough passion not to fear it. You say they won’t follow me because I’m a woman. I tell you that they will obey me when they know my story and feel my struggle as I feel it every day. And, don’t worry” she said, walking up to him and putting a hand on his shoulder “I’ll let you clean my urinal when you beg to join my army.”

*

_Kingdom of Midgar_

Aerith thought about all the times she’d talked to Dana. Every time she remembered her with a sweet smile. Dana came from the West, where the stars lit up the sky at all hours, a small village called Cosmo Canyon. When she arrived in Midgar, she had many dreams and illusions of a better life. Princess Aerith wondered if Midgar was really a better world to go to for a chance. She knew well that her father had made many mistakes in the past, perhaps more than he should have. One of those mistakes was that poor people, like Dana, were not buried, but taken beyond the White Forest of Kalm and left to be eaten by wolves. Aerith wished for her reign to begin soon, so that kind, dream – filled people like Dana could find their chance in the world and at least be buried with dignity.

She let a tear run down her cheek and, alone in her room, performed the Rite of Farewell. It was the kneeling before the evening sun in which words of farewell were murmured for the dead and was exclusive to the nobles, but the princess could not care less about the conditions. To her, Dana was noble in heart and soul and that was enough to bid her an honest farewell.

When the rite was over, she stood up and put the black cape around her shoulders. The cloak was used to signal that there was mourning in the Castle. She left her room and walked through the corridors until she reached the double wooden doors that were now closed. Aerith raised her fist and knocked twice, but she did not hear a sound from the other side, even though she knew perfectly well that someone was inside.

“Sephiroth…Sephiroth! Please, open the door” she pleaded, resting her ear on the solid wood, but she heard only silence.

Prince Sephiroth had locked himself in there ever since Dana’s hanged body was found, without a word to anyone. A day and a half had passed since the terrible tragedy, and one could sense in the air that nothing would ever be the same again. The prince did not want to eat or talk to anyone in the castle and only drank water on the sly, at night. He sobbed day and night as he lay in his bed and always repeated the same words, as if he had gone mad:

“Someone did it. Someone did it”.

He was absolutely certain that Dana could not have done such a thing on her own. She was a happy maiden, who enjoyed the simplest and smallest things in life: reading, bathing in the river, chatting with other maidens. What reason would she have, at the age of nineteen, to take her life in such a cruel and painful way? It was impossible.

He heard his sister’s voice begging him to open the door, to let her in. But the prince could not trust anyone who lived with him in that castle. Somehow or other, everyone could be a possible candidate for Dana’s annihilation. Since his limp, Sephiroth had suffered the constant scorn and disdain of those around him. They had all acted cruelly, wanting to harm him. Someone must have discovered his love for Dana and wanted to use it against him. When he first thought of that statement, he thought he was going crazy, but when he began to think about it with a cold mind, everything began to make sense.

Then, he heard a voice that joined his sister outside his bedroom:

“Your Grace. I would like to speak to your brother.”

“Who are you?” asked Aerith.

“Evan, the smith, Your Grace. I have a friendship with your brother. It has come to my attention that he is in terrible pain and I would like to help him.”

“But…”the princess tried to dig deeper, yet she heard the door open behind her. She could not see her brother’s face, which was hidden behind the gate, but she did hear his hoarse voice inviting the smith to come in:

“Come in, Evan.”

Aerith opened her green eyes wide, completely surprised. Why did he let that man into his room and not her, who was his sister? She tried to stop him, but it was too late, for the prince had closed the door in her face without giving her a chance to object.

Evan scanned the room with his eyes. It was the first time the prince had let him into his private quarters. The canopy of the bed was in the family colors, green and gold; the furniture was dark walnut and the floor was stone. The room was slightly darkened and the other details were not very visible. He observed that the prince sat down at the edge of the bed and rested his head between his hands.

"I've heard about your pain, Your Highness" began Evan, after a short silence.

Sephiroth clenched his fists.

"Who told you?" he asked, in a whisper.

"The rumor spread throughout the realm like wildfire, Your Highness. I wanted to offer my condolences. It seems your fleeting romance with the maiden has become better known than... expected."

"...Thank you."

"It's a real shame. Dana was a beauty, inside and out. That she's gone like this... the gods know what her pain was."

"She didn't do it," Sephiroth grunted.

Evan arched one eyebrow, worried that he had misinterpreted the prince's words. Seeing that the prince added nothing further, he asked:

"Excuse me, Your Highness? What... do you mean, may I ask?"

"Someone killed her."

Evan cleared his throat slightly. No doubt that was an accusation he did not expect to receive at all when he decided to present his condolences to the prince. He rubbed his hands together slowly and ran his tongue over his lips before continuing:

"Your Highness, if I may say so, I think that is a charge of which you must be very sure to have said it."

Sephiroth stood and approached the window. His aquamarine eyes were lost in the vastness of the gray landscape before him and he held the knot in his throat tightly in order to speak:

"From the day I fell off my horse I ceased to be a prince and became the fucking buffoon of this family. I earned the insults of my father, Lord Tuesti and even the fucking servants. Each and every one of them mocking me. But do you know what I've learned over the years? That mockery is never enough for someone with a mind full of hate. You said everyone knew I loved Dana. She was a woman full of life and happiness. Whoever did this knew what he was trying to do: to bring me down, to destroy everything that was left of me. To humiliate me for good. To end up becoming a slave to mockery and to erase from me everything that could be part of my integrity."

Silence settled between the two men, each immersed in his own thoughts. Then, Evan silently nodded and said:

"That... can change, Your Highness."

Sephiroth looked at him sideways, leaning on his staff.

"What do you mean?"

"I bet all that can change. That the days when people laughed at you will fade like dust in the air, Your Highness. Vengeance is a dish that is eaten cold and choked in the throats and only the skilled know how to handle it quickly."

"I don't even feel like getting revenge" the prince refused.

"You say that now but your heart said otherwise a moment ago, Your Highness. Your words cried out 'I want to be heard, I want to be powerful at once, I want to stop suffering'. And you know better than anyone that to stop suffering in this hypocritical and cruel world, you need power."

Sephiroth and Evan kept their eyes on each other for a few moments that became eternal for the smith. The prince swallowed his spit before answering and, with a click of his tongue, said:

"Do you think that with my limp and my reputation I'm going to get power?"

"That could also change."

This time Sephiroth turned completely around and faced him, scowling. He didn't seem to understand where all that conversation with Evan was leading him, but part of him wanted to know more, he wanted to know what was behind the mysterious message he was trying to convey.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Evan tilted his head and avoided looking at it for a brief moment before continuing:

"I know a friend. He was a healer, long ago, but...his reputation ended up ruining him and now he hides in the Alley of Misery, in the city. I... I visit him often. The other day he told me about a potion, a juice with a strange name called... Mako. It could turn any weakling into a mighty warrior, heal any wound, make a simple human invincible. I think that's what you need, Your Highness. If you take it, you could... God! You could take this castle and become the King of Midgar.”

The prince closed his eyes and, after a brief moment, let out a laugh that echoed throughout the room.

"Mako? I've never heard of that. A potion will not make me king."

"That's what you think. But why not try? Don't you want to stop being a coward and endure humiliation for once in your life, Your Highness?"

"Go away, Evan. I don't want to talk about this anymore." The prince concluded, instantly settling the matter of conversation.

"Ah... whatever you want, your highness," Evan mumbled. He bowed slightly and brushed against the doorknob with his bony hands. "But if you change your mind... know that there are people willing to help you take the kingdom."

Sephiroth stared at him, but asked no more questions, letting the smith leave without another word.


	3. III. The Obscure Awakening

_Kingdom of Midgar_

**T** he man in the helmet had changed his usual green and gold cloak for a black and sober one. Although he had not been personally affected by Dana's death, he felt sorry for the poor maiden and the pain of others. As was his habit, he stood guard in front of King Gast's quarters, sword in hand.

The king had not left his room since last evening, a fact which, frankly, had surprised the man in the helmet. The king used to take long walks around the castle or chat with important people almost daily, so his absence from any social activity was disquieting to say the least. But the guard had been taught not to ask too many questions, and he was no more than a soldier in the service of the Crown.

He heard delicate and firm steps in the distance, and a fresh smell of earth and flowers filled the air. He was sure it was Princess Aerith and felt a slight nervousness in his stomach. The princess was one of the most beautiful and elegant women he had ever seen, but it was not that which struck the man in the helmet, but rather the sympathy that radiated from the woman who always had an enigmatic smile on her porcelain face.

"Your Highness," he muttered, bowing correctly.

"Sir," she replied, nodding, "I would like to speak to my father, is he in his chamber?

"That's right, Your Highness. Come in" was set aside, since when it came to the princess, he did not have to announce her arrival. Before passing through the gates, however, Aerith gently stroked the black cloak worn by the guard and smiled, a grin that the man in the helmet could see was not reaching his big green eyes. He refrained from his usual impulse to avoid physical contact, but he could not stop his body from tensing.

"Thank you for wearing the cloak, Sir," the young woman thanked him, without looking at him. Her eyes traveled through the dark fabric of the garment.

"It's the least I can do, Your Highness."

Without further ado, Aerith entered her father's quarters. He was found drinking a glass of wine, with his body turned towards the huge window through which the Midgar hills could be seen in the distance.

"It is known that during mourning one does not drink wine, father," Aerith reproached him, trying to sound cordial.

"It is also known that mourning is only kept for nobles, daughter," he retorted, as if he were repressing her for her audacity. "You shouldn't even wear that cape. Black doesn't suit you."

Aerith placed her hands in her lap and took a deep breath.

"We've always had differences in the treatment of others that I don't feel like arguing about right now." She replied, evading the subject.

"So... why did you come?" he asked, inviting her to sit down in front of him. She refused the wine her father offered her and he took the opportunity to pour himself another glass.

"I want to talk about Sephiroth. You know... you know he's having a hard time because of what happened with Dana. He doesn't want to talk to me..." explained Aerith.

"And what do you expect me to do?" asked Gast, rubbing his temples with a certain disdainful air.

"Maybe he needs his father's comfort," she answered, firmly, keeping her eyes on him.

Gast burst out laughing with irony and narrowed his eyes.

"No one forced him to fall in love with a maiden. And I have better things to do than to give comfort to a weak and grieving son who goes crying into corners like him."

Aerith closed her eyes, deeply hurt by her father's comments. She was aware that the relationship between her brother and her father was quite broken by the latter's deep contempt; and although she had often intervened to alleviate the situation, she knew that it was not enough to change what was a torment for her brother and a certainly sadistic amusement for her father. It was something that frustrated her, the fact that she could not avoid that suffering for her brother.

"We're holding a banquet tonight," her father announced. "I've asked Elmyra to cook the best roast lamb the kingdom has ever known."

"Father" she rebuked him "I don't think it's right to do such a thing. Dana died yesterday. And as for Sephiroth, you should start acting like a father to him, like a real father and not like a violent one who only knows..."

"Enough!" exclaimed his father, pounding the table with his fist. "Don't you ever dare speak to the King like that!"

Aerith stared at him, her lower lip quivering. She wanted to tell him so many things, she wanted to exclaim to his face how unfair, cold, and cruel he was being, but she simply could not say anything.

"I wasn't talking to the King now," she muttered, as she got up and headed for the door, but her father stopped her before she could get out.

"You will be at the banquet tonight or I will punish you." He threatened her.

*

That was the quietest banquet Aerith had ever attended. No one spoke to anyone at the long table, and only the laughter of her father could be heard, as he kept throwing golden giles at the troubadour to keep him singing and making him laugh. On the other hand, however, she was happy, for surprisingly her brother Sephiroth had come out of his room and joined the others. The King's sons and other noble friends close to the family had been invited to the banquet. Also, away from the rest, was the man in the helmet, as always, guarding the safety of the King.

Sephiroth had barely tasted a bite of his dish and the lamb was beginning to get cold. Aerith, who was sitting next to him, touched his forearm with a compassionate caress, inviting him to try some.

"Elmyra prepared it" But after looking at her with disdain, he slipped violently out of her grip and avoided her gaze. The princess felt a painful lump in her throat and held back. Sephiroth had never treated her like this before - his brother, who had only words and gestures of affection for his older sister, now treated her with indifference and disdain.

The King then took a silver spoon and struck his wine cup, which he had already filled many times that night, several times to draw the attention of those who attended.

"Thank you, gentlemen, ladies. My children. Thank you for attending this incredible banquet," he said, slurring his words, evidently drunk.

Both Aerith and Sephiroth felt a deep sense of shame towards their father, who did not seem to be aware of the blunder he was making.

"Also...today we have a visit...from this wonderful troubadour, Darien Longtongue! Clap your hands."

The lords and ladies of the table applauded like obedient donkeys who avoided angering His Majesty, but his children refrained from such ridicule.

"What are you doing, my children? Clap your hands. Your king commands you!" he insisted. Aerith clapped his hands lightly, but Sephiroth did not move his body one inch, his eyes fixed on his empty cup. The king noticed the silent challenge that his son was proposing to him, and became increasingly angry. "Hey, lame man. You lame man." he called to Sephiroth, but he ignored him. "I said applaud. APPLAUD, LAME MAN, YOUR KING ORDERS!" he cried out, a cry full of rage.

Those at the table camouflaged their giggles with their hands, and Aerith pressed her lips, annoyed.

"Father, that's enough," she rebuked him, but her words were drowned out by her brother's deep, grave voice.

"I will not applaud even if my King commands me," he declared, staring at his father.

From a distance, the man in the helmet could feel the growing tension between the two men, and not even in the bloodiest wars had he felt such hostility.

King Gast stood up quickly and in one blow slapped his son's face with virulence. Aerith let out a muffled cry, and everyone waited expectantly for Sephiroth's reaction, but none came.

"Let the celebration... continue." The king gasped, "Longtongue, play a song. This song, dedicated especially to Dana, my son's particular whore."

The guests laughed at the king's jokes. Sephiroth, however, rose, took his walking stick and left the banquet as quickly as he could. His father followed him with his gaze, radiating disgust from his dark eyes. Aerith left the dinner and went away too, quietly.

She tried desperately to follow Sephiroth, but he had disappeared without a trace. The girl gasped, trying to catch her breath after running through the halls of Grey Castle, looking for him without success.

*

Evan, the smith, was a mysterious person. Sitting in the Honey Tavern, drinking beers and enjoying the company of the other citizens of Midgar, no one could say that he rubbed shoulders with such powerful and important people as Prince Sephiroth himself.

"Next round, it's on me!" he exclaimed, raising his cold beer mug and earning the cheers and applause of the other drunks.

So, when the doors of the Honey Tavern opened and there was a deathly silence, many were surprised to find Prince Sephiroth himself walking into that shabby, lustful hovel. Only whispers were audible within those four walls of wood and dim lighting.

"Your Highness," Evan said, gaping. "What are you all waiting for? Please kneel before the prince!" complained the smith, waving his thin arms swiftly and vehemently, and hurrying the drunks to their knees. They all obeyed and bowed to the Prince, who was surprised, for he had never been treated like this before. "I did not expect you. What can I do for you, Your Highness?"

"We'll talk somewhere else."

They both went to the top floor of the tavern, where no one was there. Evan lit the candles hanging from the candlesticks and the lighting did not help to lessen the uneasiness in the air, which was dark and almost sinister.

"Here you can speak in peace, Your Highness. No one will hear you."

Sephiroth sat down on a small wooden bench, letting that accursed leg that had been his torment for years and that had plagued him with pain rest.

"Mako. I want that potion and for you to tell me about those who, according to you, would be on my side in an assault on the kingdom," said the prince, in a vehement tone. His gaze was deep and serene, but his hands betrayed him, showing his nervousness as he trembled.

"I understand. Wait here, Your Highness. I will bring the right people."

Evan was absent for a few moments. Sephiroth tried to control the rapid and anxious beating of his heart while he waited, shaking his head several times. Then, the smith returned accompanied by two people. One was a complete stranger, somewhat hunched over and with a face full of wrinkles; the other was so familiar that the prince almost choked on the surprise.

"You?" Sephiroth questioned, squinting in confusion.

Of all the people he had expected to meet there, Lord Tuesti was not even close to being on his list. The tall man who exuded a certain elegance was a close friend of his father's and was well known to all, the long conversations in his chamber, so the prince considered him more of a threat than an ally.

"That's right, Your Highness" said Lord Tuesti, with a small bow. He did not seem at all surprised by the guest in front of him. Rather, he seemed to have been waiting for that moment.

"I want no part of this," Sephiroth said, trying to get up, but Evan stopped him.

"Wait, Your Highness, it is not what you think," he said, exasperated.

"This gentleman is a friend of my father's. I do not trust him."

"Your Highness, when I explain everything to you, you'll understand." Tuesti said "No one wants this more than I do."

"There is nothing to understand," Sephiroth refuted, trying to leave the room, but Lord Tuesti stopped him again, placing his hand on the prince's forearm.

"Your Highness, there are many of us who are tired of the King's constant contempt," Reeve Tuesti began, but the prince interrupted him with a sarcastic snort.

"You did not look very tired when you mocked me," he spat, fiercely.

"Because I had to obey the king," the merchant defended himself, frowning with exasperation, "what did you want? To have my head cut off for not laughing at you? I'd rather make fun of you than die. But it's about time things changed, don't you think? We need a king who does justice for those who have always had to keep quiet."

"What of my sister? Why not choose her?" Sephiroth asked, still wary of Tuesti's intentions.

"You know very well that your sweet sister would not deliver the blow we are seeking," Lord Tuesti muttered, a puzzled smile.

"What do you mean?" the prince asked.

"There are no righteous kings in our time. Only ambitious ones, born of greed and selfish, impure desires," the black-haired one said, releasing his grip. "What about those of us who have to shut up and swallow shit like the gods themselves brought us into the world for that one purpose? Nothing. No one takes refuge in us because we stink, because we serve those who have the most power and we wipe their asses with no regard for a pat on the back. Your sister hasn't suffered from this situation, but you have. Look at you... being a prince and treated like you have the plague. Who better than you to give voice to those who cannot?"

The prince tried to assimilate one by one his convincing words, feeling each and every one of them as his own. He was surprised that someone like Lord Tuesti, who had never shown compassion for those who needed it most, would suddenly give such a passionate and angry speech in equal measure, but perhaps, like himself, he had borne his suffering in silence for many years and endured it until he could not bear it any longer.

"And what is it you have planned," Sephiroth finally said, prompting a smile from Lord Tuesti that went unnoticed by the young prince.

"I'm afraid that's when I have to speak," said a rough, somewhat shrill voice. Sephiroth stared at him as he slowly approached them and emerged from the gloom. The dim light illuminated his hideous, disgusting, wrinkled face, and his gray hair was beginning to turn gray. He wore a ponytail and walked hunched over. "Your Highness," he said, bowing in a solemn way that surprised the prince, for he did not expect a decrepit man like him to be able to execute such an elegant move. "I am Hojo. Inventor of a potion that could make the weakest man the best warrior. The Mako."

He took out from his somewhat gnawed, old robe pocket an oval-shaped bottle of potion that was closed with a ruby-colored cap. The interior contained a bright green liquid that gave off a light Sephiroth had never seen before. It was a mysterious, strange light that seemed to be drawn from a tale of magic.

"This will make your limp disappear forever, Your Highness," Hojo explained. "And you will become that strong man you always wished to be."

"And how will that make me a king?"

"The Army of the Famished" intervened Lord Tuesti "One hundred men waiting to fight the injustice to which they have been subjected, hoping to escape from the suburbs to be heroes of their city tomorrow”.

"The Army of the Famished?" Sephiroth questioned ironically. "They have never wielded a sword in their lives and call themselves an army. They are not fit for battle."

"Not since they took the Mako, if I may contradict you, Your Highness," Hojo said, clearing his throat slightly. "The Mako made them powerful and now they kill any man, woman or child that gets in their way, as long as you give them the order, of course. They didn't take the same doses that you are going to take, but it is a good example of the effectiveness of this potion"

"When the army joins you, you will be unstoppable. You will take the castle and become King of Midgar. And a new future will open before us." He was convinced by Lord Tuesti, with a supernatural glow in his eye. 

Sephiroth seemed to ponder it for a few moments, his heart pounding. Why had he come to the Tavern, after all? Why had his own steps and his own heart drawn him to that destination if not because he truly wished his life to change, to take a radical turn? He wanted to do it, he wanted to end the injustice, the pain that he had been suffering for years, the suffering that had been imposed on him. He had nothing left to feel, only pain and anguish. He had lost the only hope he had left, which right now was being devoured by the wolves in the White Forest of Kalm. When there was nothing left for a man to cling to, only power allowed him to remove such anguish from his soul.

"I will" he decided, but was interrupted by Lord Tuesti again.

"I am very happy with your decision, Your Highness, but everything has a price. No help is free."

"What do you want?"

"When you ascend to the throne, appoint me as your Private Counselor," said Tuesti. A Private Counselor in a kingdom was almost as powerful as a King. He managed many of the monarch's businesses and social relations and was a figure that King Gast had dispensed with throughout his reign, a mistake from the merchant's point of view. "Nobody knows the business of the city better than I do, you'll need me," he insisted.

"It's all right. I will appoint you as my Counselor," Sephiroth agreed. After all, Lord Tuesti was providing him with a doorway to his new freedom.

Lord Tuesti smiled, completely pleased with the decision the prince had made and stepped aside to bow.

"Thank you, Your Highness. Or... should I say Your Majesty? Hojo, proceed."

Hojo bowed his head and approached the future king, offering him Mako's potion. He watched her for a few moments, there was something in the depths of his heart that seemed to hesitate, but he ignored it. His desire for vengeance and completion was much stronger than any doubt that might arise. He took the potion in one gulp under the watchful eye of Lord Tuesti, Hojo, and Evan the smith.

At first, he felt nothing. A few moments later, however, intense heat coursed through his stomach, lungs, and temples. Chills ruffled his skin from top to bottom, and the constant pain he felt in his leg faded like a dandelion when you blew on it. He closed his eyes, feeling himself slowly suffocating, and began to pant heavily, but after a moment the panting stopped.

When he opened his eyes, they were no longer aquamarine and no longer had the serenity they once did. Instead, they were the same color as the potion, a strange green. Her pupils had contracted to the size of a cat's and her gaze was fierce and aggressive. He stood up and felt full of strength, as if he could knock down a mountain with his own hands.

"The time has come," Hojo muttered.

*

_The air smelled of blood and metal. Princess Aerith felt that she would vomit if she continued to breathe in that intense stench, but perhaps that wasn't what was causing the intense nausea. The gallop of the horse on which she sat made her stomach bounce up and down, and she clung tightly to the rider's cloak. Nearby, the horse's legs could be heard trampling the lifeless bodies resting on the stone floor in an attempt to avoid them, and in the distance, shouts and sword clashes…_

Sword clashes... sword clashes...

Aerith opened her eyes wide, agitated. The clash of swords could be heard from her room and shouts were flooding the corridors. She frowned, frightened and not understanding what was happening, why all the distressing noise was happening that made her afraid. She looked out the window and saw everything:

There were several bleeding bodies piled up in the main courtyard, which she could see from the courtyard. From her distance, she could not recognize them, but she noticed how her vision was blurred and she became deeply dizzy. He took one hand to his forehead, a cold sweat running down it. What the hell was going on?

She left her room quickly, still wearing her white robe, and ran through the corridors. She then found one of the guards of her father's army, bleeding from his stomach and mouth. She approached him quickly and bent down beside him, taking his hand:

"My God, what is it?" she asked him, trembling.

"S...Sep...Sephiroth...your ...your brother..."

Aerith frowned, completely confused. What did Sephiroth have to do with anything? In the knight's final, agonizing moments, however, she felt it best to reassure him that he could die in peace.

"Calm down...please...everything will be all right, do not be afraid," the princess muttered, holding his hand.

"Princess...princess...hide...he will...kill you..." the knight tried to save her, spitting blood and coughing violently.

"Don't worry about me" she insisted "I will accompany you to the end"

The gentleman let out an anguished sigh and asked for one last favor:

"Princess... re... say the Rose Prayer... for my soul. The Prayer of... the knights... so that I may return to the Planet."

The knights believed that when they died, they returned to the planet where they could achieve the virtue of eternal life and peace. Aerith nodded slowly, with a soft smile on her face, and clasped the cold hands of the knight between her hands as she murmured:

_"Rose of Strength, pray for the soul of this knight, who is dying with honor to protect his family and his home. I assure you of his good faith and his good service to my name._

_Pray for him that souls will guide him on his way back to the vessel that welcomes us and gives us life called the Planet._

_He has wielded his sword, now embrace his virtue_ "

When Aerith finished her prayer, the knight died with a last breath. The princess felt a lump in her throat, but she couldn't stay there much longer. She had to find out what was going on and help in any way she could. She got up and closed the knight's eyes and just ran down the hall. She could still hear the swords, the desperate screams. There was a smell of blood and metal carrying the air that made her anxious and dizzy at the same time.

Her vision began to blur, and the princess began to stumble from one side of the enormous hallway to the other, reeling. With great luck, she managed to reach the Dining Room, but what she found there made her squeal in horror:

Four of the castle maidens were scattered on the table, their arms and necks cut and bleeding. Aerith put her hands to her mouth, trying to hold back her tears as her vision became more and more blurred and the horror took hold of her as slowly and as tightly as a snake coils itself around a tree trunk.

She fell to her knees on the ground, shaking like a leaf. Her heart was about to burst when she felt hands around hers and her vision caught a familiar golden apron. He raised his head and saw that it was Elmyra:

"Quick, Aerith, we have to hide. Come on, into the kitchens."

The princess nodded quickly and stood up with great effort. She grabbed Elmyra's arms and together they ran to where the maiden had indicated. Once there, the maiden opened the door and the princess could see how more boys and girls who worked in the palace had hidden there, frantic and frightened. They watched the princess uneasily and kept the silence, a silence that Elmyra broke:

"Your brother has gone completely mad," she told him. "He came with the Army of the Famished at dawn and started cutting the throats and gutting anyone who crossed his path."

"That can't be... that can't be true!" replied Aerith, horrified. She felt the lacerating lump in her throat again. Sephiroth would never hurt anyone, not like that. The Army of the Famished? How had they allied themselves with her brother, where had they found him? Why, why was all this happening...

"My father... I have to, I have to go and find him!" exclaimed the princess, but Elmyra stopped her by holding her tightly by the wrist.

"If you go out there they will cut your throat, Princess Aerith. Here you are safe."

"But, my father..."

"The man with the helmet will protect him," said Jaron, the sword sharpener. Jaron was only a twelve year old boy, thin and freckled, whose body was getting to the point of shaking from side to side with his tremors. "The man in the helmet is the head of the royal guard, they are all fighting out there against the Army of the Famished. That will give the man in the helmet time to protect the king."

*

"Derek, go to the battlements immediately with ten of your best men. Tyson, you will reinforce the Dining Room. Marien, the other soldiers?"

The man in the helmet felt the sweat make his blond hair stick to his face and make him uncomfortable, but that was the least of his worries right now. They had awakened to an army of sons of bitches murdering much of the Castle and led by Prince Sephiroth himself who, for some strange reason, no longer limped. His mission was to protect the Castle and the King from any threat, even if that threat was his own son, and he would do so even if he had to die in the attempt.

"At least a dozen have died, my lord," explained Marien, downcast.

"Marien," said the man in the helmet, placing a hand on his shoulder, "there is no time for remorse now. We will avenge their deaths with more deaths, do you understand me? Now go with the other soldiers. I'll stay here and protect the King."

"Thank you for the encouragement, Sir," said Marien, and he ran out with a sword in his hand.

The man in the helmet leaned out of one of the windows and watched as some flames began to rise from the barracks. He prayed hard that the technique would work, but he did not have much time to finish his prayers when he heard the quick steps approaching him. They were three men with swords in their hands, belonging to the Army of the Famished. Their chests were bare and they were all marked by a huge black scar at the level of their stomachs, wearing gray pants and high boots. The man in the helmet snorted and faced them, killing them with agility.

But he could not let his guard down. That was only a warning, and Sephiroth would soon make his appearance. The man in the helmet wondered again and again what was happening, though he could sense the origin of it all, the birth of the whole situation.

Then he saw it. His figure was no longer hunched over with a limp, but rather upright and firm. He had a voluptuous demeanour that invited hostility. He approached him with a sure step and the man in the helmet could see that he was carrying a very long, sharp sword in his right hand. But what caught his attention was that the young prince's eyes seemed to shine differently.

"Get out of the way" he ordered, "I'm here to talk to my father"

"I only obey the king's orders," challenged the man in the helmet, brandishing his sword. Sephiroth formed a sarcastic smile on his face, a smile the guard had never seen on him, and raised his sword.

He threw himself towards him and his swords collided first once, then again and then again. The man in the helmet was quite agile and experienced in close combat, but it seemed that Sephiroth had received special training for the occasion as well. What caught his attention, however, was the young prince's brutal onslaughts, full of a force he had never imagined, charged with fury. Then the prince struck him hard with his fist on his temple and the man in the helmet heard a loud whistle, staggering. Seconds later, he fainted.

*

In the kitchens you could still hear the thud of the bloody battle going on in the Castle. Sitting in a circle, Aerith watched those present and felt their fear and dismay. She, too, was hurt and worried and scared. She could not take in what was happening, she could not understand that the dream she had had days ago in which her life was changing so violently was becoming tangible, real.

She was driven from her thoughts when she saw Betty, one of the girls in the castle, sobbing uncontrollably. Betty was the daughter of Marien, of the royal army, and the princess understood her fear, perhaps she feared for her father as she was fearing for hers.

"Betty" said Aerith "come, sit here on my lap"

The girl obeyed and sat down, while she held the princess tightly in her arms. She noticed that her sobs slowly subsided, but the tremor did not go away.

"We will sing a song. The Song of Mercy. You know it, don't you? If we sing it, we'll stop hearing war," the princess tried to encourage them, and it seemed to work, as the others held hands and, together with Elmyra and Aerith, began to sing:

_The angel was dancing with its white wings_

_Lighting up the sky with his crystal smile_

_His eyes shone with kindness and emotion_

_Full of mercy and pity_

_He took care of the mother and child,_

_He took care of the warrior and the princess,_

_Even the King and Queen_

_Full of mercy and pity_

_Lighting up the sky with his crystal smile_

Just as the song began to soothe everyone's hearts, the door was heard to open. He was a man unknown to her, though he wore the clothes of the Royal Army, stained with blood. It was a large army, so perhaps that was why she did not recognize his face. Or perhaps fear was keeping her from thinking clearly. Nevertheless, she stood up and tried to protect the others with her body.

"You don't have to be on the defensive, Princess. I have come under your father's orders. He commands you to wait in your room until the storm is over.

"I am protected here," replied Aerith. "I will not leave them alone."

"Princess, the kitchens are no longer a safe place. Let me escort you to your quarters and I will personally take care of them. I will protect them."

"Aerith" intervened Elmyra "is right. Your life is worth more than ours and you must be safe."

"That is not so. No life is worth more than the other," complained Aerith.

"Princess, when all this is over, we will need a compassionate soul to protect us, and that is you," intervened Matilda, another of the maidens. This gentleman has already promised that he will take care of us."

But Aerith hesitated. Something in her heart told her that she was not doing the right thing, that this was her family too and she could not leave them alone, despite the soldier's promises. She had to do something, she had to help them, but perhaps her presence was also endangering them even more. What if her brother or the Army of the Famished had also gone to look for her? She couldn't risk anything.

"I will accompany you. But swear on your life that you will return to protect them.

"I swear, Your Highness."

*

When the man in the helmet regained consciousness, he felt the ground spin under his own body. He couldn't even explain to himself how he was still alive after the violent blow to his temple, although he had to be grateful that the helmet had cushioned a good part of the blow. He got down on his knees and took off the helmet which was beginning to weigh him down, so that he could breathe better, revealing light blond hair and fierce blue eyes. He coughed a couple of times and felt dizzy, but there was no time for dizziness when he saw a trail of blood coming from the doors of the king's chamber and spreading down the hallway.

The King! He rose quickly, even staggering slightly back and forth, picked up his sword and went inside. That monster could still be wandering around the King's chambers. When he entered, he noticed that the whole room was in disarray: the wooden table was torn, as was the canopy of the bed. The floor was full of blood that mixed with the ink from the drip that had been spilled and began to drain. The man followed the blood trail and found the monarch lying on the floor, blood gushing from the cut in his throat. He knelt quickly beside the king and tore off part of his cloak, placing it over the wound to prevent it from bleeding completely.

"Your Majesty! Hold on, please." he pleaded.

King Gast, whose eyes were unfocused, raised a heavy, trembling hand, full of blood, and placed it on the man's face, staining him.

"My... daughter... protect... my... daughter" asked the king, in a whistling voice, almost inaudible. A river of blood continued to flow from his lips, unable to be stopped.

"Your Majesty, I must also protect you and..."

"No!" mumbled the king, coughing violently. "Fi... find my daughter... and protect her."

"I will, Your Majesty" he promised.

"The...oath...take the ...oath" ordered the King "do it! Or...or I will not die... in peace...!"

The man nodded slowly. He would obey the last will of His Majesty. He thrust his great blade into the ground and leaned on one knee, uttering the words:

"I, Sir Cloud Strife, do solemnly swear to protect Princess Aerith until the end of my days. I will guide her on the right path, I will take her hand to deliver her from all evil. I will not love her nor shame her with my humble feelings, for I am her human shield now and until the day she draws her last breath. She will be my queen tomorrow and to her I owe allegiance."

"To her I commend you," murmured the king, and with a last breath he left the world of the living.

Cloud, the man in the helmet, was completely stunned to see him die. He had failed his King, he had sworn to protect him, and yet he had let him die in vain. He shook his head, ashamed of himself. But still, perhaps, there was some way to rectify his mistake.

*

Aerith was walking to her room while the mystery soldier followed her. The Princess avoided looking through the large windows of the Castle to avoid the horror that was drawn to the landscape of that dawn. There were more and more bodies and more and more soldiers fighting each other. She felt useless having to hide in her bedroom, but what else could she do?

She opened her bedroom door and, before entering, turned to the mysterious soldier.

"I will stay here," she announced. "Now, keep your promise and protect my people."

"Sure, your highness... as you like it" said the soldier, who looked at her with a smile.

Aerith frowned, feeling a sense of alarm running through her stomach, but she could think of nothing else. The soldier lunged at her, knocking her to the ground with a sharp blow. Aerith tried to resist as she watched the soldier pull a dagger from his pocket. She started kicking and punching him with her fists, but the soldier grabbed her wrists tightly and put them over her head, with a sadistic smile on his face:

"We'll have a great time, little princess," he muttered.

With his free hand, he slapped her hard, causing the princess to cry out in pain. And then another, and then another. The princess was completely disoriented, but she could see the glow of the dagger rise into the air, about to pierce her throat.

The blood stained her entire face and the princess opened her eyes wide. Red drops ran down her cheeks and neck, but the blood was not hers. In front of her, an inch away from her chest, a thick sword hung and had pierced the chest of the mysterious soldier in a perfect, safe cut. The holder of the sword pulled it from the soldier's chest, causing him to fall to the side and allowing the princess to see who he was.

She had never seen him without his helmet before, but she knew it was him because of his cloak, which had a distinctive color to the rest of the soldiers in the Royal Army. His face and clothes were stained with blood and he was panting. His eyes were full of anger but softened as he focused on the princess, huddled in the corner of the floor. The young woman was shaking uncontrollably and unable to say a single word. Only small sobs came from her mouth.

Cloud knelt in front of the princess and placed a hand on her cheek:

"We must run away from here, Your Grace," he muttered, but the young woman was unable to move. He put his sword in his belt and carried the princess on his shoulder to run away.

After dodging bodies and inert bodies they reached the stables through the lower courtyard, which was deserted. Cloud knew the castle like the back of his hand and knew well where to run to avoid being discovered. He approached Fenrir, his black horse, and helped the princess to sit down, although she was too far away. He sat down in front and took the princess's hands and wrapped them around his waist, and also threw his cloak over her to avoid being discovered, as they would now have to pass through the central courtyard to escape. Most likely Sephiroth was already in search of his sister, or perhaps it was he himself who had sent that soldier to annihilate her, so they must take extreme precautions.

As they galloped, Cloud cut through and cut in half the men who tried to approach. He was no longer even certain if he was killing people on his own side or Sephiroth's allies, he had but one goal and that was to fulfill his oath.

Aerith could see through the cloak the bodies piling up in the courtyard. He saw Elmyra, Betty, Jaron, all dead and bleeding. She saw flames in the corners of the palace, dust and the smell of blood and metal, and her own tears blurred her vision. She had failed them. She had failed her family.

She hugged Cloud tightly and fainted, as they galloped past the bodies, blood, and death of those who had once been her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for all the support and nice comments!!! :D :D   
> I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! The Journey begins here!!! :D :D


	4. IV.Let Us Return Home

_Independent City of Junon_

_"...And the city of Midgar hereby recognizes Sephiroth Faremis as its king after the death of his father, King Emeritus Gast Faremis, and the death of his sister, Princess Aerith._ _Serve the new King with reverence._

_Signed,_

_Lord Reeve Tuesti, King's Counselor"_

Lord Brian Lockhart finished reading the scroll that had come to his chamber in the city of Junon. The Lockhart family possessed the power and lordship of the city and were something very much like a monarchy to the Junonians. The family had established the naval and silk trade, thus helping the city to grow and become stronger. Junon was an important location on the continent, although not as important as its main competitor, the city of Midgar, with which it maintained exclusive commercial ties.

"Thank the gods that Gast is dead," mumbled Lord Brian, shattering the scroll with his great hands. "I would have given my life to be the one to kill him. Guard," he called to one of the soldiers guarding his quarters, "seek out my son Tseng and my daughter Tifa. I have plans for them."

"Yes, my lord."

*

If you were to ask a Junian about the Crystal Tower, he would say that it was the most secret and intriguing place, not only on the continent, but in the whole world. The Lockhart family had earned the respect of the citizens, but many wondered, in return for what? Some had never even struck up a conversation with Brian's children, not even on Tuesday of the Request, when citizens would go to the Lord of Junon with their complaints to beg for an improvement in their lives. They were mysterious people and since the death of Lady Jelena Lockhart, the matriarch of the clan, in a way that was as unexpected as it was inexplicable, mysticism became even more imminent among them.

Thus, it was to be expected that within the same family there would be secrets hidden even beneath a drawer, some that were shouted at and others that were kept in the deepest silence.

Tseng let out a liberating groan and then clutched his arms for a few moments, while his companion kissed his crown.

"I could not hold out one more day," Tseng muttered, pulling the locks of blond hair from his forehead and admiring his beauty.

The first time Tseng saw Rufus appear he felt all his life schemes sway. Rufus was the son of a powerful landowner who provided the family with cotton and cloth. Soon, Lord Brian saw a potential interest in the landowner's only son and decided that it was a good idea for him to marry his daughter and Tseng's sister, Tifa, in the near future, as this would ensure the trade in looms that enriched Junon and set him apart from other powers in the area. But, Rufus had other plans in mind, other feelings.

He didn't mind marrying Lady Lockhart if he had to. After all, his father had raised him well, well enough, to give his all for business. Nothing mattered more than money for Rufus and anything he could do to get it was unquestionable to him. If, besides getting money, he could find his happiness in other ways without one thing standing in the way of the other, then he was welcome to it. He could not say that he loved Tseng, at least not in the same way that Tseng loved him. Still, the passion, the electric spark that ran through them each time their bodies came together in a fervent encounter was enough to keep him hooked.

"You are insatiable," Rufus chuckled at him, tossing him aside and standing up, letting the sunlight streaming in through the holes in the curtains glow against his pale, naked skin. He went to the sideboard and poured some wine into a copper cup.

"What excuses do you make for my sister when...?"

"No excuses. We are not yet married and your sister would not break any of Junon's laws," Rufus interrupted, sipping his wine. Tseng snorted, amused by the situation and replied:

"You have broken all the vows.”

"I'm not from Junon," Rufus said, looking at him sideways.

"Will you stop frequenting me then, when you marry her?" Tseng asked. Though he asked the question with a slight smile, deep down it was something that terrified him. He could not say that he cared about anyone's feelings but his own, only what he felt when he was with Rufus. It was what he longed for most, to make his life a more interesting place to spend time. He didn't want that to end.

"Has it stopped, even though I'm engaged to her?"

Rufus' question was enough to satisfy his curiosity and concerns. Tseng stood up and covered his sculpted, thin body with an elegant black robe with a fiery red trim and combed his long black hair with a thin hand.

"Do you not care what you are doing to Tifa?" Rufus asked.

Tseng slowly raised his reddish eyes, gazing through the curtains with a certain disdain.

"Do _you_ care? Look at you, you're not even dressed."

"But you are her brother."

Tseng was about to answer when he heard someone knock on the door. The two looked at one another with great tension, but the black-haired man waved him off to keep his cool. No one was to enter his room unless he authorized it first.

"Who?" he asked.

"Lord Tseng," said the voice of a herald on the other side of the door, "your father wishes to see you and your sister in the Red Room.

*

Lady Tifa Lockhart put down her pen and scrolls, letting out a small sigh as she watched the bright and warm day they had been graced with that morning. The Balcony of the Moon was her favorite spot in the Crystal Tower, from which she could see the entire coast of Junon and much of the city. And there she spent every morning completely alone. She often wondered if this was the life of a city lady, lonely and full of questions about the future. She missed her mother, Lady Jelena, more than anything else in the world. But she knew very well what had led to that unhealthy sadness that had ended her life too soon.

Her father Brian's infidelity to the mother of the Faremis of Midgar, Ifalna, had devastated Jelena. They had discovered everything after a trip that Gast and Ifalna Faremis had made a few years ago to the capital of Junon and Tifa found them. She didn't really know what to do at the time, how could she understand something like that when she was barely sixteen when it all happened? Her father seemed to love her mother, or so everyone thought.

The Faremis family left and although they maintained only and exclusively commercial contact with them, sadness and disappointment marked Lady Jelena until the end of her days. There was nothing anyone could do to make her feel better, until one day, Tifa and Tseng's mother woke up lifeless in her bed.

Tifa had never blamed her father for what had happened, but her character had become withdrawn and shy ever since, earning her the name Lady of the Silent Heart. Though she tried not to hold a grudge against the Faremis family, she felt it was certainly unfair that her mother's suffering was a debt that had remained unpaid. And she always promised herself, "One day the time will come when the debt will be paid." But when would that time come? She always tended to postpone it. First, because she was too young to take revenge on her own. And, secondly, because in her twenties her father had engaged her to Lord Rufus Shin Ra, son of the most powerful landowner on the continent. It seemed that, one moment after another, Tifa found herself becoming more and more silent and turned off by others. When would her chance come?

*

Sephiroth stuck his father's head on one of the pikes in the courtyard of Grey Castle. He had gathered almost the entire city of Midgar there, from peasants to nobles and priests, who stared in horror at the macabre landscape of dead bodies, blood and viscera that stained the stone floors of the castle. The new king stood in a raised loft in front of the audience, who waited impatiently to hear his words, though they were also afraid that they had come before their own death sentence. Beside the king stood Lord Reeve Tuesti and at his side, a gaunt, ponytailed man that no one recognized or had ever seen before. And, protecting His Majesty, the Army of the Famished.

"You have been called" Sephiroth began "to witness the dawn of a new age. To witness death and the end of contempt and disdain. All that is over. There will be no more... pain and suffering for those who want to follow this new path. Therefore, I invite you to kneel. Kneel before me, your new king, and swear your allegiance to me if you do not want to decorate my pikes like these hate-filled bastards.

As expected, many of the citizens, in fear, obeyed his orders and knelt down as a sign of respect and loyalty to the new king. But some of the nobles remained standing, defiant. Sephiroth raised an eyebrow and approached one of them slowly.

"Do you not kneel, Sir Derios?," he asked, his changed green eyes giving off glimpses of a new fury that was unfamiliar and unsettling to Sir Derios.

"I was your father's sword in the Emperor's War. I swore allegiance to him when he became King and thus to your sister as heir to the throne of Midgar. I do not serve angry children like you."

The silence that filled the atmosphere began to weigh like a big slab on all those present, who held their breath and squeezed their hands anxiously.

Sephiroth formed a small smile with his lips and stared at Sir Derios, who held his gaze fearlessly.

The King drew his sword and with a perfect cut ripped the head of Sir Derios from his shoulders, amidst the choked and terrified cries of those present.

*

_A crown of black spikes surrounded her head and decorated her long brown hair. She realized that she was surrounded by a stream of lights of a mysterious green color that contrasted greatly with the night sky. The lights extinguished even the brightness of the stars._

_In front of her, there was an army. But it wasn't just any army. It was almost ghostly. She could see its ribs and the nook where its heart was, and the sword was anchored in its hip bones. The horses on which they rode were bony and black-haired, and their entrails were visible._

_"The Queen of the Dead! The Queen of the Dead!" was what everyone was cheering._

_A cloak covered her._

_A cloak..._

When Aerith woke up, she was wrapped in a thick, green cloak. She realized that she was lying on the ground, but she didn't move a muscle as she clung tightly to the piece of cloth that protected her from the world. It smelled of blood and smoke, but still retained the smell of home. She did not want to get up. To do so would be to admit that everything that had happened a few hours earlier had truly happened, so she clung to the cloak that reminded her of home, hoping that it would transport her there a few days ago.

But then someone knelt in front of her and blue eyes filled her entire field of vision. It was like watching the sea from the highest part of Midgar, so Aerith felt no fear. Again, those eyes reminded her of home.

"Princess Aerith?" the eyes asked. It was a familiar voice.

"Hm..." was the only thing that could come out of her pink lips. She closed her eyes again. Her whole body was shaking up and down, but she had to ask. "Where are we...?"

"In the Forest of the East, Your Grace." explained the voice "Near Kalm."

Aerith sat down, but she didn't let go of the cloak. She raised her big green eyes and looked around. The trees were so tall and lush that you could hardly see the sky, but it was getting dark already, for some orange and lilac tones were in sight. Then she looked around and found more trees and a black horse resting while it ate some grass. In front of her Sir Cloud Strife was waiting patiently for the princess to finish recognizing the place.

"Kalm is too far from Midgar," said Aerith, frowning slightly.

"I know, Your Grace. But we can't go anywhere else right now with just a horse and..."

"That's not why I'm saying this. I say it because... because we have to go back!" she said, in exasperation, trying to get to her feet, although her thighs and knees were shaking. Cloud helped her to her feet, holding her wrist, and she pulled him towards the horse, but the knight remained motionless. "Let's go home, Sir Cloud, we have to go right now!”

The blond man shook his head slightly, closing his eyes. He could tell that the princess was scared to death, despite that she was doing her best not to waver at all. He found it surprising that she had not broken even after all they had experienced.

"Sir Cloud, what are you doing? It's our home, we have to go back right now, they need us!" insisted Aerith. "We have to help them, we have to help them, we HAVE TO HELP THEM!" shouted the princess, as she beat hard on the knight's armour, but he didn't even get the vibrations of the blow. A moment later he grabbed the princess's wrists and stared at her as he said:

"We cannot go back. Your brother murdered your father and many others, friends of mine who fought with me side by side. If we go back, he will rip out my guts and then hang you with them. I cannot allow that. There's no home for us there, not anymore."

Aerith looked at him for a few moments as her big green eyes danced back and forth and her frown deepened. Her lips pressed into a thin line and Sir Cloud waited patiently for the punches to return. But instead, her sweet green eyes filled with tears and the young woman began to sob. However, it was surprising for Cloud to see how the princess had a fierce inner struggle with herself and would not let the sobs be evident or let the tears run down her cheeks in total freedom. Instead, her thin shoulders shook violently up and down, and she put a hand to her mouth to prevent a single noise from coming out.

Cloud watched her with concern, but had no time to think about anything else when the princess wrapped her thin hands around his waist and let out a bitter, intense sob. The knight held her and put his arms around her, but not too much. He could not forget that she was still his highness and he was only a servant in the service of the Crown. And she was now the Crown.

"Your Grace, you are not alone. I will help you in any way I can. I promised your father."

Aerith parted from him and nodded her head, with a slight hint of a smile on her lips, though her gaze was full of sadness.

"Let's march on Kalm, then. Maybe they can help us there, right?" asked the Princess, with a certain hopeful tone in her voice.

Cloud, who didn't want to hurt her any more that day, nodded.

"Surely someone will help us, Your Grace."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the support and beautiful comments I receive for this story, I have no words to explain how happy you make me feel!! ^^
> 
> Hope you have enjoyed this chapter!! ^^ Let me know in the comments what you think and feel :D


	5. V. The Eyes That Mirrored The Stars

_Mideel_

Jessie hit the rock against the arch with effort and strength, trying to give it the best possible shape. It was the second bow she had broken in less than two weeks, but she had no other way to control the anxiety she felt inside. She felt that each day that passed was another lost opportunity in her attempt to fulfill the vital mission she had set for herself.

She stopped for a moment to wipe the sweat from her forehead with the palm of her hand and continued her work, until a voice stopped her.

"Biggs told me that you are looking for an army"

Jessie looked over her shoulder and saw Barret staring at her with a half-smile. The young woman let out a little snort and laughed underneath, sharpening the bow string against the rock.

"He doesn't know how to be quiet. I doubt if I'll enlist him in my army, I'm beginning to think he's worthless," she replied.

"Don't say that. You know that Biggs is the best comrade you could have in an army and in your life, in general," argued Barret.

"You say that because you see us all as your children. And you don't see us as faults. But I do. It's good to see flaws once in a while, you know?

Barret laughed a little as he scratched his chin.

"I mean..." Jessie stood up, leaving the arch and the stone aside, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Biggs tells you what interests him, doesn't he? He tells you about my army, but he doesn't tell you about my entire plans. He must be jealous of..."

"Jessie" he scolded her.

"Alright, alright. Anyway...I want an army because I want Midgar to be a fair place for people like us," she explained.

"People like us are a pretty broad concept, Jessie," Barret added, "and if there's one thing I've learned, it's that there are no fair and unfair places. There are only places where we are more comfortable or protected."

Jessie sighed, closing her eyes.

"You were a nobody too when you were at Midgar. Wouldn't you like to go back there and make it your home again?”

Barret smiled somewhat bitterly. He looked for the right words to explain to his daughter what was going through his mind at that time.

"This is my home now. This is where I fight every day to make those of us who live here live better. That we can be happy. It may sound easy, but it is a more complicated task than it seems."

"So, you don't think I can lead an army and fight the kings of Midgar either?”

Barret approached her and put a hand on her shoulder, looking at her with genuine candor.

"I think you could be queen if you proposed," he confessed, "my fight is here, day by day. But I understand that your struggle is elsewhere. You are like a daughter to me and nothing would make me happier than for you to stay here, safe. But if one day you get that army and go to war against Midgar, be assured that I will give everything necessary for you to get it. I just want you to understand that it's not easy. There are many differences between wanting and doing. I wouldn't want anyone to hurt you."

Jessie hugged him and Barret squeezed her tightly with his big arms, giving her warmth and love. Of course, he believed that Jessie was ready to be anything she wanted, from a conqueror to a queen, a warrior. But her conviction had to take into account all the consequences before she threw herself into battle.

*

_Junon_

The doors of the Red Room opened to make way for the Lady of the Silent Heart, whom her father, Lord Brian, her brother, Tseng, and her fiancé, Lord Rufus, were already waiting for.

"You are late," her father scolded her, firmly.

"I am sorry, father. I had to finish the documents on the silk trade agreements. They are important for..."

"Yes, you don't have to keep talking," her father said, with a certain despotism, "sometimes you are as annoying as the lackeys I have to put up with day in and day out, flattering me endlessly."

Tseng and Lord Brian laughed in unison and Tifa frowned, fighting the rage. She always held back and was silent.

"Why have you gathered us together, father?" Tseng asked, curiously.

"The bastard Gast Faremis is dead. Now Midgar is ruled by his son, Sephiroth," explained Brian, interlacing his fingers on the table.

"Prince Sephiroth?" intervened Tifa, confused. "As far as I understand, it is Princess Aerith who was supposed to inherit the throne, not her younger brother."

"You don't know the trouble the lame man has gotten his family into. The winds say he killed his father and sister to take over the city," Brian said.

"The Faremis have always had a reputation for savagery," added Rufus, with disdain, "and Sephiroth has always been a wretch. This must have been his way of taking back everything they put him through in his life."

"Still," commented the ruby-eyed woman, "how do you kill someone of your own blood? You have to be very crazy to do such a thing and..."

"I don't give a shit about the lame man's motivations." Interrupted Brian "We have other things to worry about now."

Brian stood up and walked over to one of the windows, looking at the view of the entire city of Junon.

"There are two things that unite strong countries in this world: armies and marriages. Until now, the Faremis family has remained relentless in power, while everyone licked their shoes and boasted of them. But all this is over. If there is one thing I have learned over the years, it is that the tick is killed from within."

"And so, you've decided what?" insisted Tseng.

"I have decided that your sister Tifa will marry Sephiroth."

A heavy silence settled over the room, as each person present digested Lord Brian's words. Tseng pressed her lips tightly, for he knew very well the meaning of what his father had just decided. Rufus frowned and opened and closed his mouth several times, completely confused. While Tifa bent her head, clenching her fists.

"Father. I think you forget that my sister Tifa is engaged to Rufus," said Tseng, trying to sound casual.

"That's right, Lord Brian. It's a marriage vow. Tifa and I are engaged to be married when the summer comes and, I remind you, this wedding is also good for the business that my father..."

"Business is business," Lord Brian interrupted him, with disdain.

"My lord, the silk business I provide for this family is fruitful and it would not be right to waste it."

"Are you going to compare silk to a whole kingdom? When Sephiroth dies, my daughter Tifa will become Queen of Midgar by the laws of marriage. I'd rather she put up with the lame man than live out her life in silk that we can maintain without marriage or..."

"ENOUGH!"

Tifa's cry resounded throughout the room, silencing the three men next to her, who watched her with some surprise and confusion. It was almost as if they had forgotten she was there, when they had not stopped deciding about her.

"I'm sick of all this. Sick of it!" she said, standing up, dragging the chair "Sick of you deciding about me as if I were an object that had no feelings or voice to complain about, to talk about what seems unfair or hurts you. I'm not a business! I'm not a commodity! I'm Lady Tifa Lockhart and you and you and you" she shouted, pointing to Rufus, Tseng and her father "you owe me respect! I will not marry a murderer as if I were a piece of meat with eyes. And if my marriage to you, Lord Rufus, is a business, then break off the engagement! But I will not give you my life and my being to favor you with my money, do you understand?"

Rufus turned to reply, but, under the table, Tseng stopped him by holding his hand tightly, enough to make him think twice. Lady Lockhart came to the door, but, before leaving, she retraced her steps and approached her father, staring at him. Lord Brian held her gaze, unmoved.

"And if you want the kingdom of Midgar, be brave for once in your life and conquer it with your own hands," she spat. As she was about to leave, Lord Brian held her tightly by the wrist and forced her to look at him.

"Never speak to me in this way again or I will cut out your tongue and lips forever," he threatened.

Tifa pursed her lips, frowning. She slipped out of her father's grip, who looked at her even more surprised and answered:

"Cut me off whatever you want, father. The tongue, the lips, the hands. Whatever you want. But you will not rule over me anymore."

"We will see."

*

_Forest of the East, near Kalm_

Cloud looked up at the small fragments of sky that could be seen through the lush treetops. He bit his lower lip. The night was getting closer and they had not advanced enough to reach Kalm that same day. If they asked him, he was not very happy about spending the night outdoors, so close to the desolate Midgar and with Princess Aerith on board, because anything was a threat and a danger to them. But he could not ask for more from Fenrir, his horse, who had barely stopped riding for hours since they had escaped from the city.

 _The city_. He shuddered to think of what might be happening in the capital at that time under Sephiroth's new rule. He wondered how many more people would have died under the prince's guilt, how many more would be in excruciating fear. What on earth had happened to the prince? He had always seemed to him to be a restrained, cultured man, though one of few words, hidden between his books and his staff. He knew very well the mocking of King Faremis, but could that trigger the wave of deaths that Sephiroth had caused?

He was despondent. Dejected, at the thought of all the lives he could have saved and for which he gave nothing. Stupid, for he had not given the right orders. He had not even been able to protect his own King and now he hoped to protect the Princess like a deluded and naive child. When would he fail again? What had his comrades in the Royal Army thought when he left them to die without protecting them? They expected something from him, something he could not give them and that was protection. They expected their leader, Sir Cloud Strife, to draw his sword and save the kingdom from a massacre. And yet he had fled. Yes, he was fulfilling his oath, but he had fled. Did he deserve to keep calling himself Sir?

"How much further is it to Kalm? "asked Aerith, drawing him out of his thoughts. Cloud took a deep breath before answering.

"More than six hours following the direction of the moon. But...I don't know if we can make it today, Princess."

"Call me Aerith," she replied, "and as for the road, wouldn't it be better if we rested? You are tired, Fenrir too..."

"And you, princ…Aerith?”

Aerith sighed and her warm breath ran up and down the back of his neck.

" Too. I can't deny it."

"It's risky, though," explained Cloud, with concern, "I've been in these woods a long time, but I know there's everything dark and sinister you can imagine here. We will ride. You can sleep on my shoulder if you like."

"What? No way," complained Aerith, frowning, "Either we all rest or no one rests. And I say we will rest."

"Uh, I don't want to argue in this situation, but..."

"You are a knight and a soldier. I know there will be no problem." The princess insisted. Giving up, Cloud agreed.

A while later, they found a quiet looking clearing in the forest, off the path. They had nothing to take shelter with except Cloud's cloak, which he placed on the grass so that they could sit on it. The branches were too wet to light a fire that could warm them, so they only had the light of the first evening stars that began to adorn the sky.

Fenrir lay down near Aerith, who stroked its mane tenderly. Cloud looked at the stars, feeling uneasy. He would have preferred a thousand times to continue on the path, even if he died of exhaustion, but, after all, he only obeyed orders.

"Can I just call you Cloud?" asked Aerith, breaking the silence. He looked at her sideways and noticed that the princess had a very deep gaze, as if she were trying to read his mind and heart with every blink of an eye. He didn't feel uncomfortable, however, although he wasn't used to being looked at like that.

"You have let me call you Aerith. We are at peace."

The silence slowly settled between the two, only interrupted by the singing of the crickets and the slight wind from afar that swayed the leaves of the trees.

"When I first saw you without your helmet, you shocked me, Cloud."

"Hm? May I know why?"

"Your eyes. It's like looking at the sea of Midgar from my window. It's good because it reminds me of home," explained Aerith, looking at her hands.

Cloud let out a sigh. He knew that the princess longed to return home, but he wanted to believe that she was fully aware of the dangers that the city posed right now. The city was hell, and setting foot in it meant death for both of them. Perhaps with the princess they were more benevolent, but with him there was to be no mercy. The knight wondered what cruel and painful way they could use to kill him: burning him? torturing him?

"Cloud, did you...see all the people my brother...killed?"asked Aerith, in a murmur.

"I saw them. It was not a pretty sight."

"I wish I had done something earlier," she said, clasping her hands on her skirt. Cloud stared at her, what did she mean?

"There was nothing you could do, Aerith. The Grey Castle was a slaughterhouse. I saw soldiers die who had never been touched by a sword. I don't want to think what..."

"No, Cloud. It's not that. I pushed them all to this end. My brother...was getting back at all of us. But most of all, on my father. For the damage he was doing to him since he got lame. I allowed it, I was silent and now I paid the consequences. They were all my victims."

"You didn't stab them," Cloud hurried to clarify, annoyed that the princess wanted to take on a guilt that he felt was not her due.

Aerith composed a bitter smile.

"It's not only the one who sticks the knife that kills. If someone sees that the path is becoming ominous and turns away, they are only encouraging death to come sooner. But I'm going back, Cloud. I'm going back to our home. Maybe I couldn't save them before but I can still do something for those who survive. I want to try,” her green eyes looked at his blue ones and Cloud wondered how the princess could be Gast's daughter and Sephiroth's sister.

"If you want to return," added Cloud, "you must be willing to fight. Your brother will not listen to words. Let us sleep. It is late and at dawn we must return to the path, Aerith.”

Cloud lay down on his back and closed his eyes, putting his hands behind his head. The princess stared at him, pondering his words.

_Willing to fight..._

_Her hands were not stained with blood. She did not even need it when the green flash came from her fingers and hit the hooded man, causing him to fall backward, lifeless. His eyes were two glasses that mirrored the stars of the night, stars that he could never look at again._

Aerith awoke with a jolt, as she heard footsteps rushing towards them. Cloud was already standing, sword in hand, ready for the imminent attack.

"Black Fireflies," he explained, in a whisper, "are hunters, but I'm afraid they don't just attack animals. I’ll protect you, Aerith".

But before she could say anything, three men pounced on them with daggers and stones. They attacked Cloud directly, trying to stick the daggers in him, but he used his sword to block their attacks.

The Black Fireflies wore heavy black hoods, numerous belts and daggers hanging from their boots. Their hands were full of cuts and scars and one could only see their deep, sharp, amber eyes full of eagerness to kill. Cloud took advantage of the fact that one of them lowered his guard and stuck his sword in his jugular, while the angry cry of pain broke the tranquility of the night. The other two jumped on him, cutting his back.

Aerith watched the scene, trying to be helpful, but her hands were shaking and she didn't know what to do. Then, a fourth Firefly appeared among the trees and approached her, grabbing her by the chin. He spoke to her in words that seemed to be another language and that shrank the heart of the princess with anguish. She could see his lust and greed in those amber eyes and the Firefly struggled with her to try and grab her hands. However, the princess, moved by panic, kicked him hard in the crotch and ran through the trees.

"NO!" she heard Cloud's cry in the distance, he had noticed her movements, but she was only thinking of escaping from the Firefly and saving her life. The predator was chasing her and getting closer and closer to her, until he pushed her away and stood on top of her.

Aerith struggled and lifted her hands to the Firefly's neck and then, it happened.

Her hands were not stained with blood. She did not even need it when the green flash came from her fingers and hit the hooded man, causing him to fall backwards, lifeless. She looked at him just in time to see how his soul, a white shadow, came out of his mouth and wrapped around his wrists, becoming that mysterious green light. His eyes were two glasses that mirrored the stars of the night, stars that he could never look at again.

Aerith had just killed someone for the first time in her existence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for all the support, kind words and love this story receives. I hope you like this journey < 3


	6. VI. The Oneiric Stream

_Eastern Forest, near Kalm_

Aerith stood up slowly, feeling her legs shake. A sepulchral silence had suddenly taken over the forest and she wondered if she had gone deaf, for not even the wind was blowing. She looked at the man whose life she had just taken, lying on his back, with only the light of the stars illuminating the body through which, not long ago, the blood and the beating of his heart had flowed.

She looked at her hands, trembling, as she remembered that burst of green light that had emanated from them and had ended the life of the Firefly. She wanted to find an answer to all the questions that were running through her mind at that moment, but she could not find any.

"Aerith!" she heard a voice that seemed to suck her out of the mental labyrinth she was in, bringing her back to reality. Then she felt the earth tremble under her feet as the person running toward her trots, his desperate gasps making a hole in her ears. "Aerith!" exclaimed Cloud again, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her lightly, "Don't you ever go off by yourself again! Do you hear me? Never! I don't care that you're a princess, you just did a stupid fucking thing and..."

"CLOUD," she shrieked, staring at him with her eyes wide open and her brow furrowed. "Don't you see?" she asked, looking down at the ground where the Firefly lay. The knight, who had gone in search of her desperately, had only had eyes to find her and had not even realized the picture that awaited him in that clearing in the forest. He looked in the direction the princess had indicated and realized what was happening.

He slowly let go of the princess as he swallowed his saliva. His lower lip trembled slightly, but it was something that always happened to him when he was in a situation that was greater than he could bear. He held the handle of his sword tightly and approached the Firefly, expectantly. When he was at his height, he bent slightly and saw that his eyes were crystallized and that he was no longer alive. He looked over his shoulder at the princess, while a question flooded his mind. He looked again at the Firefly and took off the mask he was wearing to cover his face and what Cloud saw was something his eyes had never witnessed before.

The Firefly's face was surrounded by a green flow of light, from which small particles were flying off and wandering around. Cloud frowned, not understanding if what he was seeing was the product of all the fatigue he had accumulated or if he was really witnessing a witchcraft event.

"What... what is this?" he mumbled.

Aerith approached him, observing the phenomenon and clenching her fists.

"When...when the Firefly came at me...I put my hands around his neck and a spark of green light came out of me unexpectedly. What happened right after that was that this man died. It's...it's like I took his soul away from him."

Cloud stood up, more and more confused. He turned and faced Princess Aerith, but she had a very different glow in her eyes. It was as if something was invading her soul and body, as if she was being reborn as a phoenix. It was as if an unexpected discovery had been made in her, something that had just turned her life upside down.

"Cloud. You said I had to be willing to fight if I wanted my home back," Aerith mumbled, with a serious but serene expression, "I have... I have to understand this power and control it. It will be my key to return to Midgar and fight for my people."

"Aren't you...afraid of what you just did?" asked the blond man, staring at her. She took a deep breath, turning her back on him.

"Of course I'm afraid...that's why...I have to control this power. So I won't be afraid when I face Sephiroth. I have to fight and I have to grow. There's no one who can do this battle but me. Let's go Cloud. We have to get to Kalm."

Aerith stepped forward a bit, walking through the trees to return to Fenrir. Cloud looked again at the dead Firefly and then at the Princess, who was getting lost in the bushes, with a slight smile of genuine surprise on his face.

After two long hours of silence in which each one remained immersed in their thoughts, they saw the town of Kalm. It was a very small village whose colors mixed blue and gray, where the villagers walked back and forth with their chores and there was a small fire lit in the center that had served as a candle in the darkness of the night and that now began to go out with the first lights of dawn.

"This is Kalm, Aerith" announced Cloud, while the two rode off from Fenrir and the knight grabbed the reins of the horse with his left hand. "I will advise you one thing, it is better not to say that you are the Princess of Midgar. You are simply Aerith, okay? Although...better not to have your name asked," he whispered in her ear.

The princess looked at him sideways, with a deep frown.

"May I ask why we should lie?" she questioned.

"There are eyes and ears everywhere. I'm sure your brother already knows you're not dead and will be looking for you everywhere. I don't even know if it's a good idea for us to be here."

"Cloud. I'm not going to hide," Aerith said, firmly.

"Listen, there are times when it's good to put a little the courage aside. We are not prepared to face Sephiroth and the Army of the Famished, let alone anyone who has been forced to join him if he doesn't want to die.

Aerith clicked her tongue, annoyed.

"What about my power? A good way to control it might be to start using it," she complained, with a raised eyebrow.

"You discovered it this very night. Don't be anxious. It is better that we be strong if you want to conquer Midgar. And now, let's find an inn where we can rest as we deserve to," concluded Cloud. Aerith thought that, for the time being, it would be better to follow his advice and the two of them slowly went into the village, not realizing that an amber eye was following their steps.

After a while and several lies, they got a room in an inn, in the highest part of the town, which also had a stable where they could leave Fenrir to rest. Cloud sat down on the edge of the bed, exhausted, although he wanted to go to the River of Carps near there to take a good bath and remove all the blood and dirt that had stained his body for a day. How safe was it to spend the day in that village without Sephiroth and his henchmen finding them? Perhaps they would arrive that very day and...

"Cloud. Stop thinking, I beg you," said Aerith, from her bed. Sitting with her hands on her lap, she had noticed that the knight was quieter than usual since they had arrived in the village.

"I don't know if it's good that we're still here at this point, now that I think about it carefully," said the blond man, rubbing his chin.

"Cloud, no one has recognized us here. And, personally, I don't think it's wise to go any further from Kalm."

"Do you still think we can go back to Midgar tomorrow? he asked, staring at her with some disbelief.

"I've already realized that we can't. It's just that I need a moment of peace to understand what I've been capable of, to see how far this power can go. But how? Cloud, do you know about magic?" asked the princess, biting her lip.

"I understand about wars, swords and soldiers. But witchcraft isn't my thing, if I'm honest."

"Witchcraft?" she repeated, with some annoyance. "I'd rather you didn't call it that, it seems I'm doing something dark and sinister".

"Killing someone is not singing a lullaby," replied the knight, with a certain smug tone.

"And you? Haven't you ever killed anyone?"

Cloud remained silent as his lips formed a thin line. Of course, he had taken several lives during his existence, and there was a reason why he had been made a royal guard for the late Gast Faremis at such a young age. But he had never killed anyone with a spark and a green light, without having to make use of his sharp ruby sword, without having to see blood running or hear the anguished moan of the flesh when it was torn. That phenomenon was completely new to him and he could not deny that the Aerith he had seen in the forest had left him wanting to discover much more, to investigate how powerful that seemingly fragile princess could be.

"You've gone quiet," the princess pointed out, with a soft smile on her face.

"We'd better not think about it any more today, Aerith. Listen," he said, changing the subject. "There is a river nearby, the River of Carps. It's a quiet and peaceful place, maybe we can bathe there and put on the clothes we were offered at the inn."

"I think it's a good idea," she agreed.

A while later, they arrived at the River of Carps. It was a fairly quiet and peaceful place, with very intense green trees and very dark, but clean, water. With a sigh, Cloud began to take off his boots and cloak, which at that point was already a real mess, and he was about to undress when the princess stopped him.

"Cloud!" she exclaimed. The knight turned to look at her over his shoulder, with his hands in his pants, while he waited for her to continue, confused: "You're not... thinking of undressing in front of your princess, are you? Aren't you ashamed?"

"Oh...uh...I...I wasn't really thinking, Aerith. Forgive me."

Aerith giggled tenderly as she saw the knight get as red as a tomato as he pulled his hands out of his pants.

"Don't worry, Cloud. I am not angry. I am seeing that there is a small pond there, behind the trees. I'll take a bath there and then we'll both be comfortable. Don't worry," she added, as concern began to blossom on his face. "I'll be close by and nothing will happen."

The princess walked to the small black water pond surrounded by trees and sighed with relief that no one else was there. She dropped her white robe, now stained with blood, dirt and leaves, and took off her shoes, feeling the cold stones under her delicate feet, but she liked the feeling. She unravelled her braid and let her long brown hair fall in waves behind her back, closing her eyes. She went slowly into the water, feeling the warmth and thickness of it, noticing how little by little the dirt was leaving her body. With her hands, she made a small bowl and filled it with water, pouring it over her face and hair, massaging her aching shoulders.

While she had her eyes closed, a green glow shot through her subconscious, forcing her to open them again with a sharp gasp. She bit her lip, that power... that force that had emanated from her fingertips when he had attacked her, she was sure she could control it at will, but how? And... what if it really was witchcraft as Cloud had told her and she was not able to feel it anymore?

"A troubled heart does not allow power to flow."

Those words had been pronounced by a voice that was not her own, and Aerith gave a little jolt, turning towards the place where that deep and mysterious voice came from, covering her chest with her arms. When she discovered it, she thought she had gone completely mad.

It was a huge orange beast, with one eye closed by a deep scar and the other, amber in color, staring at her. The fur on its back was bristly and slightly darker than the rest of its body, and in the ears and neck it had various beads. If it had been a person, Aerith would have sworn that he looked like a healer or a sorcerer.

"Are you real?" asked the princess, looking at it with concern.

"As real as the sun that lights us and the moon that guards us, Aerith," said the beast, sitting on its legs.

"How do you know my name?"

"I know everything I want to know. I have dreams that tell me things. That show me things. I can access the truth and the lie of the world just by closing my eyes and letting my soul flow through the oneiric stream. Don't you have dreams too, princess? Dreams of what will happen. You think they are nightmares and you forget them, but then they happen."

Aerith reflected on these words. Indeed, she had dreams quite often. Dreams that seemed more like premonitions. She had dreamt with her soul that her kingdom would suffer a terrible misfortune and it had happened. She dreamt that a man would die by her hands and it had happened. And that power... that mysterious power...

"I have dreams...and...a power. A strange power. Did you know that too?" she asked.

"That's right. When I saw your power reflected in my soul, I knew that the times were about to change and that amazing things were going to happen. The prophecies began to be fulfilled and the songs began to fill my people. You want to know what that power is and why you possess it, don't you? Because you have a vital mission. And you are just beginning to be aware of it, Princess Aerith."

Aerith hesitated for a few moments before continuing. She hardly knew anything about that beast and it was reading to her as if she were an open book. Should she have trusted it? Her heart was pounding, crying out for her to tell the truth, and her mind was asking her to be careful, but what to do?

"I killed that man without stabbing him," murmured the princess.

"You did not kill him. You took his soul away from him and that caused his death, princess. Because you ..." said the beast, slowly approaching the shore and looking at her deeply "you have the power and control over the souls. You are the Queen of the Dead, Aerith."

"The Queen of the Dead?" she repeated, her eyes wide open. But before the princess or the beast could say anything, Cloud's voice was heard in the distance, calling her.

Now that she was aware of it, she had taken a long time in a simple shower and surely the knight had been worried.

"If you want answers and to learn how to control your power, look for me in Cosmo Canyon, Princess Aerith. Ask for Nanaki".

Nanaki, the orange beast, stood up, while its fire-colored hair faded, its claws became legs and hands, and its amber eye became the eye of a red-haired man tied in a ponytail. He wore a striking orange cape and smiled at the princess, with a slight bow, losing himself among the trees of the forest without a trace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading and for all the lovely support I receive with this story :D


	7. VII. Offerings to the Goddess

_Kalm_

"The Queen of the Dead?" asked Cloud, again. He swallowed a mouthful of hot chicken that had been served to them at the inn, trying to digest the story that Aerith had just whispered to him as they ate dinner. He wondered if perhaps the trauma she had recently experienced had caused the princess to suffer hallucinations and visions. Perhaps a healer could help her recover, if necessary. But who could they trust in a world as hostile as the one in which they lived? He decided to continue listening to her. After all, he himself had seen with his own eyes the soul of the Firefly fluttering around the princess' wrists until it vanished in that green light full of mysteries.

"That's it. And Nanaki, the Wizard, told me to go visit him in Cosmo Canyon if I wanted to know more about this power," added the princess, looking at him inquisitively. Cloud put aside the chicken thigh and stared at her, his scowl filled with a worried look.

"Cosmo Canyon is almost five thousand miles away. Besides, it is a land of witchcraft, wizards and dark rituals," explained the blond.

Aerith held back strongly to avoid rolling her eyes. The knight's strong loyalty crossed the thin line between caring and overprotecting on too many occasions and the princess began to tire of being considered fragile and delicate.

"What do you mean by that, Cloud?"

"I mean..." he said, after a pause, "that we shouldn't go there. Maybe we can find help in Junon or..."

"I wasn't asking your permission, Cloud," she interrupted him, firmly. The blond man opened his mouth with the intention of expressing a contradictory opinion, but preferred to abstain. He looked to the side, avoiding the big green eyes of the princess, who decided to soften slightly to his reaction. She said, "Listen. I have killed someone with this power. You told me that I would have to fight to get Midgar back. And that's what I'm going to do. Nanaki the Wizard will help me."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked, certainly skeptical.

Aerith took a deep breath before answering:

"Because I will dream about him tonight, and the dream will tell me the truth."

The knight was about to say something when, suddenly, he pressed his lips tightly and looked to one side, fixing his blue eyes on a specific point. Aerith followed his gaze, slightly worried, until she identified in front of them, among the rest of the people in the inn, a hooded man who had been staring at them for quite some time.

"That man is watching us," Cloud mumbled, clenching his fist.

"Is it someone from the kingdom?" asked Aerith, in a whisper.

"We'd better get up and go to the room. This is no place to waste time."

The two stood up and approached the dining room door, while Cloud flanked the princess's back. Then, the hooded man approached them, trying to catch up with the princess, but the blond man quickly came between them.

"Excuse me, beautiful lady, some alms for this poor dying man?"

Aerith stared at him, looking like a person who was dragging a deep suffering behind his back. What if they had done wrong in suspecting him? The princess gently touched Cloud's arm to indicate that he should relax and slowly approached the dying man with some compassion.

"I'm sorry, my good man, but I have nothing to offer you either."

"Oh, I understand..." muttered the dying man, crestfallen. "Just...just let me touch the hand of a lady as beautiful as you to heal the wounds in my heart..."

The hooded man slowly raised one hand and tightly wrapped his fingers around the princess's wrist, who let out a gasp of surprise. The stranger pulled a sharp dagger from the inside of his cloak and tried to stab Aerith, but Cloud was quicker and with a sharp blow pushed him away and they both ran.

"We have to get out of here as soon as possible," exclaimed Cloud, holding the princess's hand as they ran through the streets of Kalm in search of Fenrir. The hooded man followed them closely and soon, more hooded men armed with daggers joined him. Aerith looked over her shoulder, recognizing them. They were the Famished, the same ones that had invaded their home a few days before. She slowly raised one hand and tried to invoke the dark power that possessed her to free themselves from them, but Cloud's trot was too strong to concentrate. Finally, they came to Fenrir and with one arm the knight lifted her into the air and sat her on the horse, with him sitting in front and taking the reins. Fenrir lifted its legs and began to gallop, but the Famished tried to block the way. One of them stuck a knife into Fenrir's thigh, which whinnied deeply in pain. With his sword, the knight tore off the head of two of them, and this time Aerith was able to handle her power and snatched the souls of three more, getting a little space of liberation through which they could escape.

However, the Famished were too many for only two opponents, so Cloud grabbed the reins of Fenrir with more energy, trying to make them go as fast as possible. Trying to gallop through the Corner Forest, south of Kalm, was the most dangerous option, so the Harbor was the only option available. With luck, they would find a ship to sail to wherever they wanted, but far from the continent.

After an intense chase, they arrived at the harbor and a ship was about to set sail when they jumped in. The Famished were afraid of the waters and seas, so they were frustrated on the shore, watching them sail.

Aerith and Cloud panted intensely, exhausted by their frantic flight. However, they did not have much more time to think, as they suddenly fell thunderously to the ground. Fenrir's legs had given way and bent, while the horse brayed in pain.

"Fenrir," exclaimed Cloud. The couple stepped off, relieving their weight, and the blond man looked at the deep cut that had pierced the horse's thigh. "You're hurt," he muttered. Without thinking twice, the gentleman took off his shirt and wrinkled it, making a kind of tourniquet around the horse's thigh, but it was too late, as it did not stop agonizing and suffering.

Aerith knelt in front of Fenrir with tears in her eyes, stroking its back to reassure it.

"I'm sorry..." murmured the princess, hugging the horse. Cloud frowned and pressed his lips together, holding back the tears. Fenrir had been his first friend, taking care of him since he was a foal, and now it was his turn to lose him as well. She slowly caressed it, saying goodbye to it, until Fenrir let its last breath escape, at the same time that the ship was opening its way towards waters unknown to the princess and the knight.

* * *

_Junon_

"You wanted to talk to me?"

Rufus went into Tseng's room. It had been a few days since Lord Brian's decision, and the blond man wondered how much time he had left as a guest in the Crystal Tower. There was nothing he could do to reverse that decision, at least not yet. He was outraged, offended. He had been used as a mere economic interest for the Lockhart family and now that a much more powerful competitor had jumped into the fray, they were expelling him from their lives as if he were just another commoner.

"That's right. Wine?" Tseng offered him, pointing to the jug full of red liquid and the empty glasses.

"I don't feel like wine," muttered the blond, with deep disdain. The dark man smiled slightly, pouring a glass for himself, however, and approaching his companion with the same stealth with which a black cat walks at night.

"Don't be like that. I know you are angry with my father's decision. I was too."

"How can you not be angry or upset? Your father is in the habit of treating everyone according to his own convenience. I should have figured that out much sooner. And now, on top of that, your sister is rebelling against all of us."

"My sister must have been the result of the change in temperature. They say that women are more affected by it. Right now, she'll be in her room, while her regrets about raising her voice against my father are slowly wearing off. But after I tell you what I thought, you and I won't have any more problems to face."

Tseng turned his back to him and approached his balcony, observing the imposing gray city of Junon that seemed to kneel in front of him from the heights, while the blond man followed in his footsteps, though certainly reticent.

"The Offering to the Goddess Juno" announced Tseng "on the first Saturday of every November, when the Moon darkens. The head of the knight who loses the battle is given to the Goddess Juno, who honorably gives her name to our city, in order to preserve her protection and her luck during the three hundred moons that illuminate us until the turn of the year".

"Beautiful story" Rufus mocked "but what does that have to do with us?"

"Do you remember Lord Calmain?"

"The thread-head?"

"Himself. Lord Calmain attended the Offering of the Goddess Juno a century ago. He was a handsome and gentle man. At each Offering he enjoyed the battles and also the sex, everyone loved him, men and women. Until one day, a crazed warrior signed up as a fighter in the battle. The massacre was...inevitable" murmured Tseng, frowning slightly, "Sir Karran Lodar killed several attendants and also cut the throat of Lord Calmain, separating him from his shoulders and snatching those beautiful blond curls as a souvenir for the Offering. And I have found Sir Karran Lodar of our time, besides Lord Calmain", added the dark man, while a sinister smile was slowly drawing on his face.

Rufus opened his eyes, with a surprise full of disgust on his face.

"Tseng. You're not thinking of killing your father, are you?"

"Rufus. Please! The Lockhart family will attend the Juno Goddess Offering as they do every year and return broken and disgusted by the terrible murder of Lord Brian, perpetrated by a ... crazed warrior with a thirst for blood. And then, sad and grieved, his eldest son Tseng will inherit the lordship and set his own standards. And you and I..." he closed the space between the two with a soft, slow kiss "will be free forever".

* * *

"Those were my brother's men..." mumbled Aerith, closing Fenrir's eyes forever and stroking its muzzle and mane. "Sephiroth must have sent them to find me."

The princess looked up and saw Cloud, his back to everything, looking at the sea from the railing of the ship. The blond man had his sight lost, his eyes were a little red and his head hurt a lot, but he had to stand up. Things had gotten worse for both of them in the last few hours, he had lost his horse and now they were on a boat heading somewhere, with a woman who was magically killing people.

She stood up and approached him from behind, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Cloud."

"It's not your fault," he mumbled.

"I feel like I've dragged you into all this since we ran away from Midgar. So it is my fault. You're free to go if you don't want to go through with it."

The blond man snorted, rubbing his right eye with his vehement hand.

"Go?" he repeated, in frustration. "I'm not going to run away because things will get complicated. It's not in my vocabulary. Besides, I swore an oath to your father, remember? To break it I must either fail to keep one of the vows or die, and so far I have done neither. So no, I will not leave."

Aerith knew that, despite her strong character, Cloud had one too, and negotiating with him was complicated. She would accept his company and let him fulfill his oath if it was so necessary for him.

"And let's not talk about this anymore," he added.

"It's all right," sighed Aerith, leaning against the railing at his side. "Those men... the Famished. They will tell Sephiroth that I am still alive and that they have found me. But my brother will cut their throats when he sees that they have returned without me and that they have let me escape."

"He will send more. We must be prepared."

"How do you know?"

"Because a king who rises to power the way your brother did will not rest until he has wiped all possible rivals from the face of the earth. We must watch our backs from now on," he repeated.

"Agreed." The two remained silent for a few moments, a silence that was only interrupted by the sound of their breathing and the cut of the ship sailing on the watery surface. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"Who the hell are you?" roared a male voice behind her back. The two of them turned and found themselves face to face with a sturdy, tall man with green eyes and gray hair. He was wearing blue and black sailor's clothes, as well as high boots with heels that reached the knees. From his wrist hung a bracelet full of knives of different sizes and thickness.

Cloud grabbed the handle of his sword, as a precaution. Aerith stepped forward to speak.

"Excuse me, my good lord. We have ended up on your ship, running away from someone who wanted to hurt us."

"You have boarded it without paying. All passengers pay for their tickets," repeated the sailor, with a certain threatening tone.

"We have nothing to pay you with, my lord," added Cloud, "as my companion said, we have fled from Kalm."

The sailor slowly approached the two of them and watched Aerith carefully. That girl was not a maiden like the ones he used to see on board. Her silky hair, her delicate features...those hands had never lifted a plow or scrubbed a floor. Besides, one of her hands was decorated with an imposing gold and jade bracelet.

"Listen," announced the sailor, "I don't care who you are or what happened to you. But on my ship, everyone pays. And you have something to pay me with," pointed out the bracelet and Aerith bit her lip. That bracelet had belonged to her mother and her mother's mother before her. It was one of the few memories she had of someone she had loved so deeply and it hurt to let go of it, but...

"If you don't pay me... I'll throw you overboard. Well, maybe I'll rip out your blonde throat first," he sneered, looking at Cloud with a smile.

She said, "All right. I'll give it to you," with a stab of deep pain, the princess took off her bracelet and handed it to the sailor, who held it in front of his eyes, looking at it with great satisfaction. That impressive jewel would bring much fortune and food to his house.

"Agreed. Welcome aboard," he said, parsimoniously, bowing to the couple. "We're heading for Mideel, if you're wondering."

"Mideel?" repeated Cloud, with great frustration, letting out a slight grunt. 

"Yes, Mideel," said the sailor. He slowly walked away from them and the deceased Fenrir caught his attention. He bent down in front of it, watching it with some regret. "Don't worry, I'll take care of this one." With unheard of force, he carried him on his shoulders and disappeared into the interior of the ship.

"Mideel is too far away. Far from Midgar and also far from Cosmo Canyon, I am afraid," announced the blond man, without taking his eyes off his horse, which was disappearing in the darkness of the night.

"Maybe at Mideel we can find a way to get to Cosmo Canyon. But we have to go there by all means," said Aerith, with enormous determination in her green eyes.

* * *

_Junon_

That first day of November arrived accompanied by an intense rain that wet the streets and the facades of the houses. But nobody cared about the torrential waterfall, on the contrary, they celebrated it with great joy, because it meant that the Goddess Juno would be present at the Offering, watching over them.

All Juno's people approached the Rose Square, where the festivity was celebrated every year, and took a seat in a circle around the improvised battlefield, where two of Juno's best warriors would see each other's faces and fight vehemently to obtain the Goddess' virtue and to obtain a year of prosperity and tranquility.

The Lockhart family arrived shortly thereafter, although it caught the attention of those accompanying them that this time the only daughter of the family, Lady Tifa, was not present. The Junonians wondered where the beautiful ruby-eyed girl was, while Tseng whispered in Rufus' ear:

"It's better this way. I couldn't stand my sister's stupid crying to see my father die," he smiled. The truth was that, since the strong argument with her father, Tifa preferred to spend as little time as possible with her family, besides, the young woman did not enjoy the Offerings to the Goddess Juno at all. They seemed to her like real butcheries, merciless bloodbaths that made families compete for money and prosperity, not knowing they were losing something even more valuable: a son.

They all greeted Lord Brian, their lord, with education and respect, as well as his son and the one they still believed to be Lady Lockhart's fiancé. Lord Brian, Rufus and Tseng sat in the front row, in a privileged position, and waited patiently for the fight to begin.

A few minutes later, the herald arrived accompanied by two imposing men, one in silver armor and one in copper armor, each with their swords in hand.

"Ladies, gentlemen. Lord Brian and his respectable family. Welcome one more moon to the Offering to our beloved Goddess Juno, who is among us today thanks to this abundant rain" those present cheered, full of joy and enormous expectation. "Today a new head will be offered to the Goddess, a new body and a new soul, which will return with a year of abundance, happiness and prosperity to whoever gives it. I would like to introduce you, Lord Brian, to the two contenders of your lordship: Sir Taros Dobran of Ancient Corel" raised the arm of the warrior in silver armor "and Zack Fair of the Blue Lands of Gongaga", this time, the herald raised the arm of the warrior in copper armor.

"That's my warrior," Tseng muttered to Rufus, with some satisfaction in his tone of voice.

"Have you really brought a bastard of Gongaga to do your dirty work?"

"Those people will do anything you tell them to do for a few coins. They sell easily. And I know he'll do it well."

Under his worn-out copper armor, the warrior Zack could see the laughter and mockery of the audience, who made obscene comments about his person in order to ridicule him. He knew very well how badly Gongaga's people were looked upon in the wealthy areas of the world and especially in Junon, after the Red Invasion a few decades ago. The inhabitants of Gongaga had almost had to thank the Junon invaders for their lives, for which they now worked as slaves and mercenaries. That's what Zack was, a mercenary. And with the coins that Lord Tseng had paid him, he would have been able to feed his family for months. He wasn't going to lose that battle, that was more than clear to him, he was going to make history. He was going to be a mad warrior who would kill one of the most important lords of the continent, besides, he would run away with a bag of gold waiting for him in the first ship that sailed back to the Blue Lands. However, he wanted to earn the coins with pleasure and would go even further than his lord had asked.

"Let the fight begin," announced the herald, hurrying away from the battlefield.

The swords roared as they collided with each other with the ferocity and momentum of the first blow. Sir Taros could not deny that in front of him he had a rather skillful warrior who moved well and dodged his blows with a certain grace and elegance. But he could not lose to a bastard of the Blue Lands, that would be a disgrace to his family. Meanwhile, Zack tried to get him as close as possible to the stands, where his second target was. This would make it much easier to annihilate them both.

The two warriors continued to fight relentlessly, feeling the raindrops wetting them from head to toe. Sir Taros had suffered some cuts in his arms and face, where he was not wearing armor and his teeth were grinding against each other, full of fury for not having been able to deliver a single blow to his adversary. Then, unexpectedly, he slipped and fell backwards on the stand, a moment that Zack took advantage of to annihilate him. The warrior, with blue eyes and dark hair, clenched his teeth and pierced his throat with the edge of his sword.

There was an overwhelming silence among the assistants, who watched with curiosity how the blood was gushing from the throat of the already dead Sir Taros. Then, all began to applaud, full of joy. The Offering had just taken place. They stood up, cheering for someone they had previously tried to offend with their mockery. But Zack was quite used to human hypocrisy and didn't have much time to waste. He drew his sword slowly and executed the plan just as Lord Tseng had instructed.

First he attacked a man nearby, tearing off his leg with his sword. The cries of horror were soon heard, while the attendants, confused, wondered what was happening. Tseng followed his plan and pretended to be just as confused as the others, as he grabbed Rufus' wrist, ready to get lost among the people who were starting to run around, trying to get away. Lord Brian also tried to escape, but Zack was much faster and with an agile movement of his wrists, he tore his throat, leaving him to bleed to his knees on the ground.

Tseng stopped for a few moments and both he and Rufus looked behind him to see that the plan had been successfully carried out. The dark haired man said goodbye with a sarcastic smile to his former father and began to flee, trying to get lost in the crowd, but his grip on Rufus broke loose when a mob of people ran over them, desperate to escape the murderous warrior as quickly as possible.

"NO!" exclaimed Tseng, trying to find Rufus in the crowd. The blond fell to the ground, pushed by so many people trying to escape, horrified. The brunette almost fell, but managed to dodge the blows, while his orange eyes tried to find his love.

Zack, having done his job, began to run. He had to run away as soon as possible and get on the promised ship or else one of those psychopaths who worshipped Lord Brian would catch him and kill him, and then hang him on some wall.

"I'm too young to die," exclaimed Zack, speaking to himself, as he ran away.

"Don't let him escape," shouted some men, keeping up with him.

When the people finally began to disappear, Tseng, who had stood upright, was confronted with reality.

He fell on his knees against the ground, flooded with water, while his tears ran down his cheeks and a heart-rending cry pierced his chest and throat, losing himself in the dark air and mixing with the thunderous noises of the storm. He embraced her, caressing what a few hours ago was the most beautiful face he had ever seen, now trampled and torn apart by all the feet that had run over it. He held him tightly in his arms, in a desperate attempt to prevent the heat of his body from completely dissipating and leaving that world, but it was too late. The Goddess Juno, her rain and her storm had taken Rufus away forever.

* * *

Zack was panting incessantly. His clothes became heavier and heavier because of the unstoppable rain, and those stupid devotees of Lord Brian did not stop following him.

_Come on, leave me alone for once, friends. I only came to make history, the rest doesn't interest me_ , he thought.

He continued running without realizing that intense eyes were watching him and began to follow him discreetly. The men who were chasing him would capture him at any moment if he did not lighten his pace.

"Stop!" they bellowed.

_I will not be another head on the gallows._

Suddenly, someone pulled his arm and made him get lost in a dark alley, while the men who were chasing him were out of sight. Zack looked at the person or thing that had lent him a hand, but all he could see in front of him were intense, beautiful ruby-colored eyes. The face of the person to whom they belonged was covered by an elegant cloak of red and black color that didn't let him see any of their features, but those enormous and leafy black eyelashes and the delicacy of their hands let him discover that it was a woman.

"But what...?"

"Sh." He was interrupted by "I'm running away too."

* * *

_Mideel_

The October rains had left behind a good harvest, food for the animals and above all, wood to improve the weapons and sizing. Although Barret believed more in the natural cycle of life and was somewhat skeptical of the gifts of the gods, he began to believe that Biggs' prayers to his Sphinx each morning and night could have a major effect on the arrival of abundance. Not everything was going to be thanks to the boy.

But the dark-eyed man felt that that first dawn of November brought something different. The sun that was beginning to rise was more orange than on other days, and the rain that had been falling for several days without ceasing had inexplicably diminished.

"Good morning, Barret," said Soran, one of his pupils. "You have risen with the dawn"

Barret laughed slightly.

"That's right. I can't sleep, kid. It happens to me every time something is about to change."

"And what do you think is going to change this time?" Soran asked, curiously, gathering some fallen wood for the fire at nightfall. It was beginning to get cold at night and it was better to provide warmth for a more restful sleep.

"I don't know, but..."

"A ship! A ship is coming!" was heard in the distance.

Barret and Soran looked at each other expectantly and ran to the coast, somewhat away from the village. When they reached the shore, they found the others watching what was, in effect, a ship that had just arrived in their waters. From it came down people probably fleeing from the hell that was said to be Midgar, people in whose faces one could see pain and loss, misfortune. Barret watched them with compassion. They would all live a little tighter in the village, but without a doubt, there was a place for all of them there.

"They look like runaways," Soran said, crossing his arms.

"That's right..." muttered Barret, who had stared at a couple that had caught his eye. One warrior recognized another warrior, no matter how much he wanted to hide. That blond boy who was getting off the boat accompanied by a lady was, without a doubt, a knight. A royal knight. And the girl who accompanied him... shared features of the Faremis family. He recognized her instantly. That must have been Princess Aerith.

"Wait here," said Barret, slowly approaching the ship.

He walked towards the couple, feeling his heart pounding. Midgar royalty was not welcome there. If he had noticed, the rest of the villagers would soon do so and would not be as compassionate to the princess as he pretended to be.

"Hey, you guys" caught his attention. The couple turned and looked at him. "Come closer"

Both the blond and the princess remained in place, without moving one iota of their bodies. Barret doubted if they were afraid or if they distrusted him in the same way he distrusted them, so it was the black man who closed the distance.

"Welcome to Mideel" he said "You are Princess Aerith Faremis. Don't deny it" he quickly said, when he noticed that the girl was going to object to something.

"How did you recognize me?"

"I lived in Midgar for many years. You were a child when I was last there. Now you are a woman. But you should know that royalty, and especially your family, is not welcome here. As soon as they find out who you are, they will show no mercy."

The princess exchanged a slightly desperate look with her companion that did not go unnoticed.

"We are just passing through" explained the princess "we want to get to Cosmo Canyon. But... we have been through so many things that..."

"All of us here have suffered, Princess Aerith," Barret interrupted her, staring at her, though with some serenity. His tone was not accusatory, but rather calm. "Cosmo Canyon is quite far from here. But there is a boat out there every two weeks. It is an unknown land and everyone who goes there never returns. I only ask you to be discreet while you are here."

Aerith opened her eyes wide, surprised by the kindness of the man who had just approached them, who, by his appearance and manners, seemed to be the leader of Mideel or, at least, something close to that status.

"Wait!" insisted Aerith "I will be discreet, I promise. But...at least tell me your name. I want to thank you for your generosity."

Barret looked over his shoulder with a slight smile:

"Barret, a Nameless. And don't thank me for anything."

Both Cloud and Aerith saw him leave without saying another word. It was then that the blond man broke the silence and began to walk, entering the leafy and wild Mideel. The humidity was intense but the cold was even more so given the time they were in:

"Two weeks is too long to wait, don't you think? That man...Nanaki, The Wizard. Will he wait that long?"

"I don't know. He just told me to look for him. I've been dreaming about him since we left Kalm," she explained, walking beside him in search of a place to stay.

"And what have you dreamed?" asked the blond man, looking at each and every one of the villagers who were walking around, doing their daily chores.

"I have dreamt ... something very strange and grotesque. It was...a kind of ritual. But it seemed to be something necessary, something that I have the obligation to do sooner or later" said Aerith, shaking as she remembered that ghostly dream that had haunted her every night since she had met Nanaki.

"I don't know what to think about that power and that Nanaki," Cloud mumbled.

"Trust me. For now we must find a place to take refuge for the next two weeks."

A few hours later, the two of them got a room at a small village inn. It was a comfortable and peaceful place, very different from Kalm, where the sun offered a different light.

Cloud left his sword on the wall and looked at Aerith, who was leaning against the window frame, with her eyes closed. It was then that he could realize how tired she was. Not because they hadn't slept enough on the ship. But tired on an emotional and mental level that he felt he wasn't able to understand. Her inner world must have been a whirlwind of emotions in those moments, after having lost her family, being more than ten thousand miles from her home and with a power completely unknown to her. Also, he was aware of the nightmares that overwhelmed her night after night and again, he felt powerless to do anything to protect her from something that was far beyond his reach. Was this how he intended to fulfill the oath he had taken to King Gast?

"May I know what you are thinking?" asked Cloud, keeping some distance from her.

"Did you understand what Barret said? The villagers of Mideel hate my family. The royalty. They hate me and don't even know me. My father hurt them so much while he was alive that they had to leave their home. Like me now. I feel that, even if I want to, I will never be able to heal that wound."

Cloud stepped forward, hesitant.

"It wasn't you who hurt them, if I may say so."

Aerith, who still had her eyes closed, composed a bitter smile.

"That doesn't solve anything, Cloud. It only works for the unconscious to try not to bear the consequences of others. But it was my father, it was my blood that hurt innocent people, whether I want to recognize it or not" the girl opened her eyes and looked at him, dropping a tear "no matter what I do, that will always be with me".

The blond swallowed saliva, clenching his lips. They had only been together a short time, but he couldn't deny that Princess Aerith was an impressive woman. She seemed to be in another dimension, unreachable and unexplored, full of layers of depth under a fragile and delicate appearance. And yet she was human and imperfect. She was closer to him than he wanted to believe and now she was under his care, under his protection, and yet it was she who was covering him under her mantle and leading him right down the path she wanted to go.

" It probably was. It will be with you always. But I believe..." he said, slowly approaching her and coming face to face "that you are going to change it. Not everything is a past. There is also a future, isn't there?" he reflected.

Aerith nodded with a sweet smile. She slowly raised a hand and caressed his cheek, noting how he tensed slightly at the lack of habit of such an approach, but she didn't mind.

"You are right. You know, you are becoming my guide on this journey, Cloud. Thank you," she muttered, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest. Cloud instantly remembered that first pain-filled hug the princess gave him when they had just fled Midgar, and he felt that this time was different. There was something different about her face, her breathing, even the way she hugged. He was being different too. So, this time he held her tightly in his arms. This time it was not the princess hugging her knight. It was Aerith and Cloud melting into an embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I updated!!! Thank you very much for all the kindness, love and support this story receives!! :D :D :D


	8. VIII. Mercy

_Mideel_

The first days at Mideel were relatively quiet. Both Cloud and Aerith, after receiving a warning from Barret, tried to go as unnoticed as possible and avoided interacting with anyone in the village. After all, in a week they could take the boat to Cosmo Canyon and leave the place, and if they could do so without making a fuss, even better.

When Aerith woke up that morning, she felt her body like a heavy slab, sore from head to toe. She could not remember anything that had happened in her dream and that worried her too much, since they had arrived at Mideel, that had been the general tendency.

"A nightmare again?" she heard, across the room. Cloud had been awake for some time and was watching her from the window. He was wearing new, clean clothes and his hair was a little damp, probably from a bath in the river.

"It's different this time," replied Aerith, sitting up on the bed and pulling a lock of hair away from her forehead, placing it behind her ear. "Since we arrived, I haven't seen anything in my dreams, but I feel them. I worry that I won't see."

"Why?" he asked, with genuine curiosity. Although the princess didn't delve into what she saw in her dreams, he wanted to know more about that strange virtue she possessed, like a window to her nearer future that she always managed to predict and guess at.

"Because I can always see what will happen, one way or another. It's as if... it doesn't matter. You're not going to believe me and say it's witchcraft or something," whispered the green-eyed one, standing up and stretching her arms out in front of her chest.

"Probably. But I'm curious and I'd like to know," he admitted, getting Aerith to look at him with a mixture of surprise and relief that she could get it off her chest.

"It's okay...it's like...like dreams talk to me. They guide me through the path I must follow. I dreamt that Sephiroth walked Midgar with my father's head in his hands and something very similar happened. Sephiroth killed our father. And so far, everything has happened as I dreamed," she explained. The blond man listened to her carefully and, with a slight nod, urged her to continue. "But if I stop watching, how can I be prepared for what is to come?"

"Hm. We've been through quite a few things after we fled Midgar. If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that you'll be ready."

Aerith felt a mixture of relief and a strange nervousness when she saw that the knight was so confident in her abilities, but it wasn't enough to make her feel completely at ease. She didn't blame him for not understanding deeply what was going on in her mind and heart, since that spiritual connection between her dreams and her reality was something that only the person experiencing it could understand.

"Sometimes it's better not to know what's coming," the blond man said suddenly, his eyes wide open as he looked out the window of the wooden inn. "It's good to have a surprise sometime".

The princess watched him carefully. Until now, Cloud had been her best listener and her best spectator, listening to each and every worry that tormented her, but the young woman had realized that she had not stopped to think about what could be affecting the knight, her companion. What was Cloud usually thinking about? What worries did he have, what was it that was afflicting him? Aerith wanted to understand why he thought the things he did, why he was afraid of witchcraft, why he became a knight so young. She realized at that very moment that she was accompanied by a person she did not know in depth and something inside her longed to meet him.

She approached him slowly and put a hand on his shoulder, looking at him with a slight smile:

"Cloud, what are you thinking? Why are you telling me the things you are telling me?"

It seemed that this was not a very common question for Cloud, something he didn't hear often enough. What was he really thinking about? He had never been asked that before and was somewhat afraid to verbalize his thoughts, could he do that?

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, frowning slightly. The princess worried that she had crossed an invisible line and interfered too much with his privacy, but she had already done so and there seemed to be no turning back.

"Until now, you have always listened to me. You know a lot about me and I know hardly anything about how you feel or what you think. It's something I'd like to know. That, that's it. I would like to meet you."

"I think you already do. I'm here, there's no more than meets the eye," he argued, feeling slightly nervous at the attentive green gaze of the princess, who laughed softly.

"I think there is much more. Well... I'll go and have breakfast," she announced.

She went to the door and, just before leaving, Cloud stopped her with his words:

"Maybe if I had known what was in store for me on this trip, I would have wanted to keep coming. Or maybe not. Who knows. But I'm here and I want to be surprised by what's to come, even if I don't believe it. That's... that's what I think".

He held his breath as she watched him with her eyes wide open and her eyebrows arched. But a smile from the princess was enough to put his mind at rest.

*

When she finished her breakfast, Aerith made the decision that she would spend her days helping the villagers of Mideel with the different routine tasks. She didn't want to spend her mornings and nights locked up in her room and thought that would be a nice way to entertain herself and learn more about the villagers. Although she could not make amends for the mistakes her father made during his reign, she considered helping as much as possible in Mideel's activities as a way to reconcile relationships. She stood up and picked up the breakfast table, which was full of cutlery and dishes that other inhabitants of the inn had left there.

As she did so, the owner of the inn, a stubby, brown-haired woman, approached her with curiosity:

"You don't have to do it, young lady, I can do it," she said politely.

Aerith bowed a little and smiled:

"Don't worry, my lady. I would like to help you and the rest of the villagers in any way I can"

The mistress of the inn frowned slightly. To her, the manners and education of the young woman in front of her had not gone unnoticed, not at all common among the people she was used to dealing with. Now that she noticed, the girl seemed elegant and delicate enough to be a simple beggar who had ended up at Mideel because of the misfortunes of fate, as she had presented herself.

"Ah...thank you, girl. Tell me something... where are you from? I don't think I've heard you say it."

Aerith looked at her out of the corner of her eye, trying to pretend, and continued to pick up the silverware and clean the table with a cloth that was nearby.

"From White River, near Nibelheim," she replied.

"You don't have a western accent," the woman asked, approaching her. Rather, I would say you are from the capital."

The princess bit her lip and continued her work, trying to divert the conversation as much as possible.

"My father was born in the capital. He raised me and maybe that's why I don't have an accent" Aerith laughed, trying to ease the growing tension that was beginning to arise between the two, but it didn't seem to be enough for the owner.

"Ah... and tell me, girl, what did you do in Nibelheim?"

What did the people of Nibelheim do? Aerith tried to remember the many books and lessons her father had made her memorize about lifestyles in other parts of the world, but she was so nervous that it was impossible for her to think exactly.

"I was helping with the crops, my lady."

The owner of the inn took her roughly by the wrist and held it up in front of her eyes so that both of them could look at it closely.

"These hands have never lifted a plow or dug up the ground to plant seeds. Nor are you from Nibelheim. You are a high-born lady, you do not deceive me!"

"No, wait, I..."

"I know who you are" intervened a young man with curly brown hair and gray eyes. "You were talking to Barret the other day, when you arrived. I heard what he said to you. You are Princess Faremis, the daughter of that wretch Gast who got us all here.

"How?" repeated the owner of the inn. Soran, that was the name of the man who had just betrayed her, approached both women with a deep frown.

"Until now I haven't said anything out of respect for Barret. But I can't go on knowing that Gast Faremis' daughter is trying to live among us as one of us, when she is not and never will be."

"A Faremis..." muttered the owner, looking at her up and down with an unusual contempt that Aerith had never experienced on her skin.

"A Faremis? at Mideel?" then another middle-aged woman intervened, who quickly approached them.

"Your father drove most of us into humiliation and exile for being poor and not having to take us to our mouths. He punished us and disowned us," Soran said, with a threatening tone.

"Please wait," Aerith tried to intercede.

"What a gift from the gods to have their daughter here to repay all the harm we suffered". The owner of the inn murmured and unexpectedly punched the Princess hard in the belly, who twisted in pain and fell to her knees with a gasp.

"Wait, please..." begged Aerith, but the three of them dragged her by the hair to the outskirts of the inn. The young woman felt as if a thousand needles had stuck in her scalp and tears threatened to roll down her cheeks.

She rolled on the wet ground by the morning dew and noticed how her clothes and body were filled with mud, but she did not have time to think about anything else, as she began to receive kicks and scratches, while words full of hate and resentment were uttered towards her person, resentment for all the harm her father had caused them in the past. The princess begged for mercy amidst tears and cries of pain, but it was not enough to stop the rage that those people had been accumulating against her family for years.

She felt her body tremble with every blow, with every wound. She felt the years of humiliation, of sadness, of loss that those people had suffered at each new brushstroke, in their eyes full of rage. And when she felt herself fading, she heard a voice in the distance.

"STOP! STOP! I SAID STOP!"

The blows stopped as suddenly as the wind stops before a storm, but Aerith did not move an inch. She curled up on the ground, hugging herself, while tears rolled down her cheeks and sobs ripped at her throat.

"What the hell is wrong with you? What are you doing?"

The princess was able to tell that it was a warm, female voice. The voice crouched beside her, she felt her smell and her breath close by, but she didn't dare to open her eyes, she didn't dare to breathe. She would have stopped her heartbeat if necessary so that she would not be heard.

"Jessie, don't come any closer! She is a Faremis. She is the daughter of King Gast".

Aerith feared that, upon receiving this information, the newcomer who answered to Jessie's name would also overwhelm her, beating her to the end. But...

"And is she King Gast that you should do this savage thing? By the gods! Look at her dress! And her arms! You are so brave, you hit her among all! Barret will punish you for this. And you, Soran ... you're not even a man! You're a fucking coward, a conceited man who ...!"

But all those present suddenly became silent at what they saw. Aerith got down on her knees alone, shaking with pain, but she didn't care in the least. Her green eyes were full of tears that almost prevented her from seeing, and she was covered with earth, her clothes torn by blows, but this did not prevent her from standing up, to the amazement of all.

"I know that ... I know that my father ... was not an honorable man" began "I have felt in my skin all the damage ... that he did to you. And that it will...mark your heart forever, leaving an indelible...scar."

The princess panted slightly, before the attentive gaze of those present, who listened to her in silence.

"But life has already punished me ... before you did. It took everything from me... as it did from you. I had...to flee my land before my own brother killed me. You can rest assured that all your curses have come upon us and destroyed us... I am not my father and will not be of any use to you, but... I am sorry. I'm not my father and it won't do you any good, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry that you feel this pain in your soul, I'm sorry that I can't tear it out of your chest forever. But, for your comfort, I too have suffered the scorn in my skin and in my heart for the rest of my days. Therefore I beseech you... mercy."

There was a deep and heavy silence among all those present, who assimilated the words that the princess had just pronounced. Jessie stared at her, her eyes bright with tears, her body full of dirt, her knees shaking. She came a little closer to her and said:

"When I got here, someone taught me mercy. I would like to go back to Midgar one day and change everything that hurt me in the past and that filled me with wounds. I cannot forget the past, but I know perfectly well who drove me out of the capital. And if I can't stand injustice, I can't exercise it. I accept your forgiveness."

Jessie took the princess' hand and the two looked at each other, as if their souls were communicating at that moment in a language that even they could not understand.

"Thank you," mumbled Aerith.

"And you, don't you think to say anything?" asked Jessie to those present, but they remained silent and slowly left without any more words. Jessie understood that she was not going to force them to forgive the Princess for something that she had not even done, as each one of them was carrying their pain more deeply. But if Jessie wanted to change what she remembered about the city of Midgar, she had to start changing herself. Even if she wanted to kill all the kings and queens. She had just realized that the young woman in front of her eyes was not so different from her.

"Come, I will heal your wounds."

*

"You are very quiet, Princess," said Jessie, as she passed a wet towel over Aerith's arms, wiping the dirt off and removing the blood from the scratches that covered part of her limbs.

"Call me Aerith, Lady Jessie. And...I'm still trying to assimilate what just happened and that I got out alive."

"I am not lady. I was, but I'm not anymore. So you can call me Jessie too. And...I want you to know that, even though I have defended you, I partly understand them. But you can't go around beating people up for damage their parents have caused, can you?"

Again, silence reigned between the two young women, a silence that the orange-eyed one broke.

"I had heard that Midgar was hell, but I never imagined it was so hellish."

"My brother lost his head. That's why... that's why I came here. But I plan to go back and get what's mine. Save my city," Aerith explained, looking straight ahead. Jessie watched her carefully. She had seen in her a great resemblance to her own person, someone with a certain desire for revenge born in a pure heart.

"And can you?" the young woman questioned. She didn't seem to be able to resist the beating that three villagers had given her, how could she face an entire kingdom ruled by her brother?

"I can," Aerith firmly declared. Jessie looked at her, with a mixture of surprise and also of slight admiration. "I have a special power that I must learn to use. I must leave here as soon as possible, get to Cosmo Canyon, learn how to use it and get my home back".

Jessie meditated for a few moments on the words of the Princess, feeling her heart pounding, but she shook her head, undecided.

*

"Who did it?" Cloud asked, fists and jaw clenched as he watched the certainly emaciated look of Aerith, sitting on the edge of the bed. It was beginning to get dark and after a whole morning spent looking for her all over the village, he had finally found her.

"That doesn't matter anymore, Cloud," Aerith muttered.

"It matters to me. I mean.. I mean, it does matter. This can't stay like this," replied the knight, trying to appease his anger by himself, but it was proving to be a difficult task.

"The villagers needed relief from their pain. They are here because of the damage my father did to them. They got it and it won't happen again."

"And that's it? To let such an act of savagery go unpunished?"

"Cloud, we can't feed the pain with more pain," Aerith argued, beginning to feel tired of where the conversation was headed.

"But..."

"I have already apologized for what my father did. And they won't accept it. I will not force them to love me, to forgive me. In fact, I must not do so. They have their reasons."

Then there was a knock on the door and the two of them stared at each other nervously. Cloud signaled Aerith with his hand to wait and taking the sword, he went to the door and opened it, finding himself face to face with bright orange eyes.

"Leave that aside, swordsman, it's not necessary here," said the newcomer, pushing Cloud aside and entering the room with a big smile.

"Jessie?" said Aerith, with a warm smile on her lips. It seemed that she could have found a friend in that small village.

"I am sorry to come at this hour. But...since we talked, I couldn't help thinking and thinking about what you said. About returning home. I want to go home too, I want to have a chance to change what made me run away, to give hope to more people. Aerith..." Jessie took her by the hand and stared at her, with a special glow that did not go unnoticed by the Princess "a while ago, I wanted to have an army follow me to fight the kings and queens of the capital and destroy all the unjust laws your father established. Probably it would all have remained a dream if you had not come into my life. It will be difficult for me to have an army follow me, no matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise. But if you have a special power and you are going to fight to control it, with that fierceness you have in your heart, you will get many people to follow you. Aerith, let me join you on your journey. I want to go with you to Midgar."

Aerith slowly nodded her head and a sweet smile formed on her lips:

"It's okay, Jessie. Come with me. I promise you that we will change many things together."

*

The few days that were left to go to Cosmo Canyon passed without hardly noticing. These were unusually and unexpectedly quiet for both Cloud and Aerith, who spent most of their time together, although they used to receive visits from Jessie, who had brought them up to date with practically her entire life: how she had come to Mideel, the ham and wine she received on the day of her birth, how she knew how to handle the bow with the precision of a wasp, who had hundreds of admirers in the village... what impacted most positively on Aerith was the fact that Jessie wanted to create a children's home in Midgar:

"That's right. A home where poor children, like me, have a place to go. Where they are loved and cared for. Biggs is going to help me," she explained.

"That's a very nice idea, Jessie. I'll keep it in mind when we get back."

"And, besides, I'll have the help of the Queen, that is, you. Can I be any luckier?" said the orange-eyed one, with a lively laugh.

"And Biggs' help. I guess Biggs will be your future husband, won't he?"

Her friend couldn't help but burst out laughing, and Cloud fought hard not to roll his eyes. He liked Jessie, she was nice, but since they had met, he hardly spent any time alone with Aerith and he didn't know why that bothered him. It bothered her a lot more than he wanted to, although he tried not to make a big deal out of it.

"Biggs, my husband? No way! I'm getting married because I'm a girl and we have to get married, but it won't be with him. It will be to a handsome gentleman with long hair and green eyes, for sure."

Finally, the day arrived when they would set sail for Cosmo Canyon, something that Aerith wished for with all her strength. She had reached a point where all she dreamed about was complete darkness and she needed answers to all the questions she had in mind. She could not waste any more time, she wanted to recover her home, save her comrades, protect the kingdom.

They were about to board the ship when a person stopped them:

"Wait!"

The three of them turned around and found themselves face to face with Barret, who was carrying something wrapped in his hands.

"Barret!" exclaimed Jessie, surprised.

"Jessie, Princess Aerith, uh..."

"Cloud". The blonde was introduced.

Barret nodded his head and continued talking:

"I had not had the opportunity to apologize for the altercation you suffered a few days ago, Princess. I'm sorry about what happened, although I know you understand. And I am aware that you apologized on behalf of your father. A daughter should not have to bear the burden of her father's or mother's mistakes, even though sometimes it is difficult to make a difference. But I offer my apologies, Your Highness."

"You don't have to, Barret. I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Being here has taught me many things I did not know, it has taught me to see the suffering of others. Someday, at Midgar, when I return, there will be a place for you."

Barret nodded, there was something that made him trust the words of Princess Aerith, although after so many disagreements with the royalty, he preferred to remain skeptical until he saw for himself.

"If you don't mind, I won't take up any more of your time. I just came to say goodbye to Jessie, she's like a daughter to me."

"Let's leave them alone, Cloud," said Aerith, holding his arm as the two of them went into the boat.

Jessie looked at him with a smile, although inside, she felt an immense sorrow for having to leave.

"Come with me, Barret."

"You know I can't, Jessie. This has become my home, this has become my people. But your chance to fulfill your dream has come."

"I..."

"Princess Aerith embarks on a battle that will not be easy. If you are on her side, you will have to fight with her and for your dream. So... this will be necessary for you."

He held out what he had wrapped in his hands and Jessie took it, unwrapping it nervously. She opened her mouth in surprise and her eyes got wet.

"It is made of yew and the strings are silk. You will need it, my child."

It was a beautiful yew tree bow, orange in color like her eyes, polished and hand-made with great delicacy. It was and would always be one of the best bows she would ever have and Jessie knew it. She threw herself into his arms and held him tightly, letting the tears flow:

"Thank you, Father."

*

If you asked Aerith, Cosmo Canyon was not at all what she imagined. She had thought of something sinister, full of fog and darkness, but in the place where the night was everlasting, the stars in the sky shone like thousands of luminous tears, and the predominant orange of the bonfires gave the atmosphere a warm and even cozy touch. Although it was true that there was a certain magical air that hovered in the sky and on the ground.

When she set foot on the ground, Aerith felt a strange sensation. It was as if it had always been her home, as if she had a deep connection with the roots that made up the soil and as if these very roots were merging with the veins in her body. It was as if she belonged there.

"So this is Cosmo Canyon," Jessie whispered, fascinated, looking back and forth with her eyes wide open, not wanting to miss any details.

"Finally we have arrived" sighed Aerith, exchanging an accomplice look with her and looking at Cloud, who didn't seem very calm. The Princess bit her lip, she knew very well how little the knight liked those strange things and how skeptical he was about them, but that was the path the Princess had to follow, nothing else mattered. It was her destiny and she had clung to it like a drop of rain to a flower petal.

"Let's look for Nanaki," said Cloud. The three of them set out to walk when a mysterious voice stopped them.

"You need not look for me if I have found you first," announced the orange beast, approaching them with stealth. He transformed in front of their eyes and became human, bowing in welcome to Princess Aerith, who looked at him with a smile, while Jessie and Cloud were trying not to squeal in surprise. "What an honor it is for us to have your highness here in our lands. I suppose you have come because of this power you possess. At last you have decided to embrace it."

"That's right," nodded Aerith, certainly proud of her decision.

"Good idea," Nanaki said, stroking her cheek with one finger. "I see you are not alone, Your Highness."

"This is Jessie, from Mideel and Cloud, my knight."

Cloud felt his heartbeat speed up at such a presentation and his cheeks blush slightly, but decided not to give it a second thought.

"Just your knight?" Nanaki asked, with a knowing smile, "Well, you'll need to rest, it's been a long journey".

"But..."

"We will speak of your power when you rest, Your Highness. It will be necessary."

*

When Aerith opened her eyes, the night was still covering the sky with its darkness, but she felt that she had slept as she had not slept for a long time. She felt strangely rested, relieved, as if the stabbing headache that had been with her for some time had disappeared.

Cosmo Canyon smelled of cinnamon and fire, but it was very pleasant. The Princess looked out the window, observing the city under her feet. The inhabitants wore bright orange and violet clothes, and their skin had a beautiful bronze color. They wore different weapons on their waist according to the color of their tunic, so Aerith considered that they differed between warriors and magicians: warriors wore a violet robe and swords or daggers on their belt; while magicians, dressed in orange, carried canes and rods lined with precious stones and holly.

Aerith observed everything with a smile on her lips, that place was very different from everything she had seen so far and she loved being there, it was like a spell. Someone knocked on the door at that moment and after indicating to her to come in, a maiden dressed in a jade green robe entered her room:

"Princess Aerith" she said, with a strong foreign accent "Nanaki the Sorcerer asks me to give you these clothes as a present, clothes worthy of a Queen. Besides, I have come to do your hair for the occasion"

Aerith lifted the imposing pale pink dress. The fabric was gauze on the skirt and the chest was more puckered, like a fabric armor that closed into a high neck, while the back was completely bare.

"It is beautiful. I thank you, maiden."

"Your Highness. One more thing, Nanaki is waiting for you downstairs to talk about a...power".

"Thank you again" said Aerith, with a smile.

*

"This place is incredible, isn't it Cloud? Cloud?" asked Jessie, crossing her arms and carefully observing the knight, who since they had arrived in Cosmo Canyon was quieter than usual.

They were together with Nanaki the Wizard in the Cosmo Hall, where they had stayed to rest in the upper rooms. They had spent almost a day and a half sleeping without realizing it and Cloud would let them cut off his sword hand if he lied when he said he was sure they had been bewitched to sleep.

"What do you want?" asked the taciturn blond man. He tried to avoid Nanaki's insistent gaze on him, who hadn't stopped watching him since he arrived.

"Know what's wrong with you. You look like a beaten dog since we got here."

"A heavy heart will not be so easily explained," Nanaki intervened, earning an angry look from the blonde. "You fear losing Princess Aerith because of this power and this city, don't you? Although, why do I ask, if you are an easy to read open book."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cloud said, trying to avoid the topic of conversation as much as possible.

Nanaki chuckled.

"Cloud" said Jessie "I know Aerith is strong, she will learn to control that power and everything will be fine. I'm sure of it."

"There is no point in trying to calm the heart of a man in love," said the wizard, looking lost.

"WHAT?" repeated Jessie, dropping her jaw in surprise.

"By the gods! I'm not in love with Princess Aerith. Stop it, Jessie!" added Cloud, blushing, begging Jessie to stop blinking in that stupid way as she clasped her hands in front of her chest. "I have known the Princess for many, many years, and I am sworn to protect her, her father. That is why I care."

"As you say," added Nanaki, "but you should know that this journey is full of dangers for the Princess, just so that you can warn your shocked heart a little."

Cloud was about to respond when the wizard turned quickly, drawing the attention of both of them. The blond man felt his jaw drop slightly when he saw how beautiful Aerith looked in that dress, she looked like a real queen. Her hair fell loose in long brown waves and she had an elegant and stately bearing, almost from another planet. Jessie looked at her with a smile and approached her with admiration.

"You look beautiful! I wish I were a queen to wear these dresses."

Aerith smiled sweetly in appreciation and Nanaki approached both of them.

"There is no time to lose, your highness. Come with me, there is a power we must release."

Everyone followed Nanaki into an adjoining room. The room was a true work of art: on the walls was drawn the history of the world up to that very moment, from the creation of humans at the hands of the Goddess Gaia, through the arrival of the nine gods, the birth of water and fire, the Wars of the Empire, the conquest of Cosmo Canyon, the birth and death of Bugenhagen the sorcerer, the creation of the kingdoms...there was one drawing, however, that caught Aerith's attention by far:

"It's me..." she muttered.

Among all the events that had shaped the history of the world, she found herself drawn in a very different way. She was covered in blood and looked as if her soul had been torn out and put back in its place. Her eyes shone differently and on her head there was a black crown with chains, surrounded by the green light that she recognized as the Souls.

"So it is. We have been waiting for millennia for the arrival of the Queen of the Dead in our world. The Queen who would unite life and death, souls with bodies to reconquer the capital of Midgar and bring us a prosperity never seen before. We thought that the Prophecy would never be fulfilled. Until I felt the first Soul that you took away," Nanaki explained.

Aerith admired the drawing once more before asking:

"What is this power, Nanaki?"

"The power that only one person in this world can possess. We can all kill, but not all can be followed by an Army of Souls that can annihilate under our command. That is a dark power that only one person possesses, and that is you."

"Army of Souls?"

"That's right" Nanaki's amber eyes shone with unusual ferocity and deep satisfaction "until now, men have fought bloody wars, leaving their skin and honor behind and dying like flies. Everyone has longed to be able to control death, who lives and who does not, but no one has ever succeeded. Dark Magic was something unexplored, something that gives so much power that none would ever want to consider it. But you can. You can become a queen, the queen that the world needs with this power".

Aerith's eyes danced back and forth, matching each of the words that Nanaki had just explained. The queen the world needed...

"Tell me, Aerith, don't you want the world to be a better place? It's time to get rid of all the evil that has become a disease for everyone.

"I want to do it," she finally said. The two looked at each other intently and Nanaki nodded.

"Of course, it won't be easy. You will only gain complete control of the power if you obtain the Crown of Martyrdom."

"And what must I do to get it?

"Die."

There was a heavy silence among those present, who tried to absorb the words spoken by Nanaki.

"Impossible," whispered Cloud, frowning in terror.

"It is not," objected Nanaki "Princess, if after the Ritual of Blood you die and manage to come back to life with the Crown of Martyrdom, you will have become the Queen of the Dead and your power will be lethal."

"You are nothing but a cursed sorcerer who tries to deceive us with his riddles," Cloud spat at him, in rage, "why do you want to kill the Princess?"

Nanaki shook his head in frustration:

"I don't want to kill her. It is the Ritual that establishes how the Crown is obtained and she possesses the power to fulfill it. I know she will get it."

Cloud was going to intervene again, but Aerith stopped him:

"I will do it."

Jessie bit her lip while Cloud looked at her fiercely, incredulously.

"Aerith, you're not believing everything he says."

"I must. I have this power and I want to know how far I can go."

"But..."

"Cloud...I know what I'm doing."

"Aerith, I swore to protect you. Don't expect me to let you walk into death as if I don't know what that means. If I can help it, I will."

"No, you won't. Cloud, I'm absolutely certain of this. Please...protecting me also means supporting me. And this is what I want to do."

Cloud couldn't fight the intense glow of determination that came from inside her green eyes and pierced him with just a glance. But how could he let that sorcerer do whatever he wanted with her, what was that Ritual, how could he let her die and...

"When will it be?" asked Aerith. She tried to camouflage the tremor in her voice slightly.

"At the full moon that will take place this week. First, we must train the power you already have, princess".

"So be it".

*

The following days, Nanaki and Aerith spent the hours practically together. The Princess followed each and every one of the Wizard's advice to evoke the mysterious power that her heart possessed, and although at first she couldn't even get a spark of light, at sunset a green nebula surrounded her wrists.

So they continued during the coming days until the full moon. Nanaki trusted the princess deeply and Aerith trusted him, both of whom had established a fairly deep emotional bond.

On that night of the full moon, all the inhabitants of Cosmo Canyon were sitting in a wide circle around a small fire. Next to them was Jessie, who had taken advantage of the days to improve her shot, while Cloud was a little further away than the rest. He was still very reticent about the idea of what was going to happen that very night and had a plan in mind that, he hoped, would work.

When Princess Aerith arrived, dressed in a long black chiffon dress, there was a deathly silence, broken only by the crackling of the fire at the bonfire. Nanaki approached one of the magicians and whispered to him:

"Sir Cloud will try to stop us, but don't let him."

The magician nodded his head and Nanaki and the Princess stood by the fire. Aerith took a deep breath. She could not deny that she was indeed frightened, but deep down she longed with all her soul to take that important step in her existence. She didn't know what would happen next, but she knew that it would work, that everything would be okay.

"Welcome" said Nanaki, with parsimony "After millennia of waiting, the Prophecy today is fulfilled. The Queen of the Dead stands before you and when she returns from the dark side, from limbo, we will owe her homage until the end of our existence. We will be at her service and her honor will be ours"

"Your honor will be ours," they all repeated in unison.

"Cosmic Magicians, rise up" Nanaki asked. Six magicians dressed in robes of a brilliant golden color rose and approached both with grace and elegance. "Swear tonight that the Grid of Blood will be performed and that Princess Aerith Faremis will return from the dead as Queen Aerith of the Dead."

"We swear".

"Princess Aerith, do you swear to trust your power and to obtain the Crown of Martyrdom?"

Aerith remained silent for a few moments until she finally spoke:

"I swear."

"Let us begin the ritual."

The Cosmic Magicians began to sing a bitter hymn with their eyes closed in a completely unknown language under the attentive gaze of those present, who did not want to miss a single detail of what was about to happen. Aerith stood in the center, just as Nanaki had indicated, who joined in the chant.

Then, the princess let out a deep cry of pain when the center of her chest cracked from top to bottom, leaving a long, thick river of blood that stained her black dress. Cloud tried to approach the wizards, but they stopped him with a power that he was unable to shake off, as he sobbed in anger at Aerith's suffering, who was screaming as she watched her own heart beat. Her arms also became filled with cuts and wounds from which blood flowed, as well as her legs, until finally she fell dead.

The intense silence reigned among those present and Jessie felt her body shaking from head to toe. She tried to think something, to formulate some word, but it was practically impossible while her eyes filled with tears. In a short time, she had come to deeply appreciate Aerith and considered her friend, and now she had just died after a terrible torture.

Cloud fell to his knees, stupefied, unable to believe what had just happened, trying to get rid of the power that was holding him in place so that he could not cut off everyone's head in revenge.

"You killed her... I knew it... you killed her..." he sobbed.

Nanaki stared at Princess Aerith, dead on the floor. He swallowed his saliva, they had to be patient. He knew that nothing would go wrong.

Then it happened.

The blood slowly returned to the princess's body and her wounds gradually closed, as if they had never formed before. Her heart, which had stopped beating, was placed back in its cavity and the huge opening of her body closed like a book after it had been read.

The fire was extinguished and everyone remained motionless, without moving a single finger, with their eyes fixed on Aerith, who slowly began to kneel. A green light began to illuminate her and a black crown was forged around her brown hair, which lit up completely when she stood in front of each and every one of those present.

The Queen of the Dead had come back to life and, behind her, an Army of Souls was standing beside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thank you for all the kindness and support!! :D :D :D


	9. IX. A Knight's Oath

_Junon_

She thought her head was going to explode from the pain at any moment. The water that filtered through the walls fell in the form of drops on her head and she opened her mouth to be able to relieve her thirst a little, although the small amount was not enough. She tried to remember how she had arrived at that dark dungeon, but she was so dizzy that it was impossible for her to think clearly. She looked at her arms and legs, which she could see thanks to the small strip of light coming through the tiny, round window on the roof, and saw that it was stained with dirt and mud. The rain of the previous days and the attempt to escape had left her in a complete mess.

"I see that you have woken up," said a voice on the other side of the dungeon.

"What?" she murmured, her own voice ripping at her vocal chords and almost coughing.

The person on the other side, in the darkness, seemed to stand up and took a few steps forward until he was up to it. He was just as dirty as she was, but he looked better. At least he didn't look so tired and down. This was the man she had helped to escape on the day of the Offering. His blue eyes shone differently than when she first saw them, enveloped in that darkness that seemed to give a sinister touch to his appearance.

"You have been asleep for days," he said, "that is normal. Although I thought you were going to die, for a moment...after the blow to your head".

Tifa sighed heavily, looking as if her lungs were full of dust or as if someone was holding her with excessive force from behind. She didn't even make the effort to stand up, preferring to remain seated as she knew her legs would fail her just by trying.

"Days," she repeated.

"Yes, be thankful we are awake" he said, with a joy that was certainly strange to the young woman "and that our beautiful little heads are not surrounded by a rope."

"They're not going to kill me," she added, averting her eyes.

"How can you be so sure?" he replied, crossing his arms.

"Because I am Tseng's sister and Lord Brian's daughter. And when they find out that I am here, they will help me."

Zack swallowed his saliva, slightly nervous. He was the one who had killed Lord Brian on Tseng's orders, but, after all, it was his sword that had cut his throat. How could he explain something like that to the girl in front of him? Although Tseng had locked them in that dungeon when they were about to escape from fate and had promised them that their punishment would not be death, the blue-eyed young man had learned not to trust anyone's word. And more on the word of someone who ordered his own father to be killed. However, he noted that there was a reason he did not understand why Tseng preferred them alive to dead.

He said, "Hey, listen. It was Tseng himself who ordered you to be locked up here."

Tifa plunged his huge ruby eyes into him, and Zack felt himself shivering from head to toe. He had heard about Lord Brian's beautiful daughter before, but he had never thought that reality would be a thousand times greater than what was said about her. Still stained with dirt, with her clothes all torn up and her face tired, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and besides, there was something in the depths of her eyes the color of fire that made him want to understand the cause of that everlasting sadness.

"Tseng is my brother," she repeated, trying to hold on to that statement as if it were her last trump card in life.

"Yes, but he... locked you up here. Next to me. He thought... he thought we were trying to escape together," said Zack, trying to avoid the details of why he was in that dungeon.

Tifa felt a knot of tears forming in his throat, but she held back. She was not going to cry in front of a unknown person, who, despite being a stranger, she was going to escape with him. She did not want anyone else to take advantage of her weaknesses.

"Then my father, when he finds out, will help me. I am sure of it."

Zack frowned, his eyes moving back and forth. He knelt beside the young woman, feeling a strong knot in his stomach. There was something that told him it was better not to lie, that it was better to be honest and bear the consequences of his actions. But he kept a slight uncertainty in the bottom of his soul that asked him to keep the secret in the best possible way. If he told the truth, he would earn the instantaneous hatred of that girl, but if he kept silent, he would still have a chance to know her.

"Listen...there's something you should know. Give me your hand," said Zack, holding out his hand, thin and big.

Tifa couldn't help but look at him with some distrust and concern.

"What do you want me to hold your hand for?

"Please do it." he insisted, looking her straight in the eye. Tifa felt a slight wave of relief? confidence? Something she could not explain, but which made her hand melt into the hand of the man in front of her, feeling his warmth. To feel such a touch in a place as dark, cold and sinister as that was the closest thing to a blessing she could get and she didn't want to let go. "Your father...died in the Goddess' Offering. He was...killed. And that was a tremendous stampede. A few more people died."

Lady Tifa closed her eyes tightly, horrified, as tears streamed from the corners of her eyes without mercy. How had all this happened? Of course, her relationship with her father was not the best of all, and even her plan to escape was driven by the pain caused by his presence, but she would never have wished for his death. After all, it was her father who, along with her mother, had given her life and cared for her, albeit strictly, until then.

"It can't be...and I...I was thinking of running away...without saying goodbye..." sobbed the lady, even with her eyes closed. Zack certainly felt guilty for having hidden part of the truth from the young woman, but he didn't think it would be very nice to be locked up while he was the murderer of her father. He gently ran a hand over her cheek, wiping away the tears with a gentleness that Tifa had long since grown unaccustomed to.

"It's not your fault," he said, as gently as he could, but that didn't seem to ease the lady's broken heart or the guilt Zack felt inside. Nevertheless, it was still not easy for him to explain the motivations and what led him to kill her father.

*

She went up to the particularly long, straight stairs, driven by the sound of the sobs of what seemed to be a child. There was something in the pitch of that sound, of that voice, that reminded her of someone she had met a long time ago. It reminded her of something familiar, something she had already experimented and which, for a reason, brought her bittersweet memories of her own childhood.

To be honest with her own self, she wasn’t really sure where she was nor where she was going. However, the strange sensation of safety and the ethereal ambiance that unknown place was exuding was enough for her to keep going.

After a short time, she arrived at a room. It was empty, not a single furniture around. The white dusty light came from some stained glasses windows and they made the little child’s silver hair glow. He was sat down in the middle of the room, hugging his knees tightly to his chest, crying in such pain that almost made her break down. But she contained herself and approach him, recognizing him. It was nearly impossible to be confused about the identity of that boy.

“Sephiroth?” she murmured. Her voice was a husky whisper, but enough to be audible. Suddenly, the child stop crying. She saw how he was wiping his tears delicately as he tried to stand up, but he looked too weak for doing so. Instead, he decided to just turn around on his knees and face her.

“Aerith” was his only response. She gasped, surprised. That boy in front of her was his brother but looking exactly like he was when he was around ten. However, his eyes carried such infinite sadness that it was unsuitable for a child of his age.

“How is this possible?” she wondered.

“Don’t you know? You are the one who have always had strange dreams. The one who seems to have a key to another dimension. Maybe this is another dream of yours as well.” he explained.

“Probably…” she answered, as she tried to look at her hands or her feet which, as she expected, looked translucent and surreal. “But…I haven’t had this kind of dreams before. I mean… When I dream, I only see what is about to happen. Still…I can’t talk nor do anything when I am dreaming. Just…like an observant.”

“My soul is trying to communicate with you. Maybe that’s what is happening…Seems like I don’t have much time, Aerith.”

“What do you mean? I have too many things to ask you. Like… why did you slaughter our city? Why did you kill our father, and our friends? Sephiroth, you are not like this. Where…where is the brother I loved? That Sephiroth who was always reading, who was taking care of me. That Sephiroth who knew all my secrets and feelings, who was gentle and kind.” She tried not to sob but it was impossible. She wanted to hug that child in front of her in a desperate attempt to bring the brother that she loved back, but she knew that as soon as she touched him he was going to vanish in the air.

Sephiroth began to cry. It was almost like a lament from the depth of his soul, that was tearing his heart and his lungs.

“He is still there. But he made a mistake. A terrible mistake. A mistake he isn’t even aware of.” the child kept crying “There were some people who betrayed him. They made him believe that he was going to be powerful, but…but they were only fooling him and now…now he’s dying…”

“Dying? What do you mean? Sephiroth, who were these people? Who are they, what are they doing to you? Tell me, please, tell me” she begged, falling down on her knees.

“Why is it so tough, Aerith? Why nobody wants me, why nobody admires me? Why are they making me suffer like this, making me feel this lonely? Why did I have to born a be such a disgrace?”

“No, that’s not true. You are not a disgrace. You are my brother! Please, tell me who are hurting you, tell me it isn’t too late, Sephiroth, please…”

The child covered his face with his hand, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Why this has to hurt so much?” he wondered.

She tried to hold him between her arms, but he vanished in the air and that oneiric world became a spiral of confusion.

*

_City of Midgar_

“Has the fever subsided?”

He asked the question while his gaze kept lock on Sephiroth’s body, who was lying on the bed in what seemed like an everlasting sleeping. He only opened his eyes to throw up or to cry, so both Hojo and Lord Tuesti considered it was a matter of time before he finally died.

“No. Which is a good indicator” Hojo replied. “The effects of the Mako Potion are normally faster than how they are being in this occasion, but I am sure that, finally, Sephiroth will succumb.”

“I’ve been hearing those words from your mouth for a month” retorted Tuesti, exasperated “we cannot lose more time than we are already losing. Our plans to conquer more realms have been delayed for a long time and such a powerful kingdom like Midgar cannot go down with a fucking crippled king. He has to die, and soon. So that I can replace him on the throne as he stated on his “testament”.”

“His testament” Hojo snorted.

“Yes, the King's will is equally valid as if he had personally chosen me as his heir. And if you have something to object, I…”

“I have nothing to object” Hojo interrupted him “But what about Princess Aerith? Do we know that she’s death too? Are we sure about that? Because your head is going to roll on the floor if she’s alive and the citizens of Midgar find out.”

Reeve hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“We are still looking for her. Anyways, we have the city under unwavering control. Those who want to be against the Throne will be sentenced to die.”

“Not if the Princess return with an Army or something similar. If that happens, you will have to assure your alliances. And I don’t think that, after the way the city was invaded, the people are going to be by your side much longer.”

“They will.” Reeve concluded, with confidence “And I will ask you to just do your job, which seem to be unprofessional. You were hired to achieve a goal, don’t disappoint me.”

*

_Cosmo Canyon_

_After a month_

Aerith let out a sigh. She watched from the balcony of her room as, in the courtyard, Cloud tried to train the Army of the Dead with great effort, though without success.

It was a phantasmagoric army, although composed of flesh and blood people who had come back to life thanks to the Queen's sacrifice. However, they needed a certain discipline. As Nanaki had explained to her, they would obey her orders without any objection, but they needed an instruction and a strategy to follow in order to fulfill the most important purpose occupying their minds at that time: to recover Midgar and find out if her brother was in imminent danger, if her dreams had any reality this time.

She had not commented on that dreamlike conversation with Sephiroth to anyone, at least not for the time being. She felt quite strange since she had "come back to life", as if she was in full recognition and reconnection with herself. In addition to the barrage of mixed feelings she had inside, Aerith was certainly uncomfortable with the fact that everyone was constantly calling her "Queen" "My Queen" "Majesty". There were very few people with whom she could speak with close confidence, and although she tried hard to appear close to those who gave her space to survive, the citizens of Cosmo Canyon continued to treat her as if she were a goddess.

So one could say that she had been feeling completely strange for a month.

"Sir Cloud is doing his best, but it doesn't seem to be enough, Aerith" heard Nanaki's voice behind her back. The Queen looked at him sideways and let out another sigh.

"I trust Cloud."

"Trust is sometimes not enough. I trust him too, but after a month...there doesn't seem to be much progress."

That was something she could not deny.

"What do you suggest? I don't understand about war strategies or invasions, if that's what you're trying to tell me."

"Actually, I didn't come to propose such a thing."

Aerith looked at him curiously, while in the background the clashes of swords and the hooves of the horses were heard as the warriors practiced.

"Tell me."

"There is a warrior experienced in this kind of dark magic. I don't think he has trained an army like this before, but I am sure he will be able to help Cloud in his work."

"Who is this?" asked Aerith, folding her hands over her skirt.

"His name is Nigreos. I can contact him and bring him to you if you wish."

"It would be a good idea. I can't waste any more time and I need to get back to Midgar as soon as possible."

Nanaki watched her for a few moments. A month was enough to get to know Aerith and understand her gestures and actions, so he could sense that something was troubling the Queen, that she was disturbed.

"I feel that there is something that worries you."

"Yes. Wanting to return to Midgar. I don't want there to be any more suffering and pain there," the queen dodged, looking back at the training yard.

Nanaki decided it was better not to insist, and after a while of exchanging words on more everyday topics, she left.

Aerith went into the room and approached some white flowers, perfectly placed inside a vase. A green light voluntarily emanated from her hands, making them wither one by one and, in the same way, making them reborn again with the same beauty.

"I wish I could go back to Midgar on my own and end all this," thought Aerith. She was taken out of her thoughts when someone knocked on the door. "Come in."

Cloud walked into her quarters, bowing slightly.

"Don't do that," replied Aerith, trying to mask her frustration with a small smile. "Have the warriors learned anything new today?"

"I'm sorry. It's been harder than I thought. It's not... an army like any other. At least they don't look anything like my boys from Midgar.

"I know," said Aerith, reaching out and putting a hand on his arm, "it's been a month and everything is still the same, so Nanaki and I have made a decision."

Cloud nodded his head.

"What is it?

"He knows a dark warrior named Nigreos. He thinks he can help you train the Army."

Cloud tried to hide his disappointment as best he could. Although he had heard the word "help," he knew that sooner or later he would end up being replaced by this unknown warrior named Nigreos.

"Aerith, I get the idea. But I know I can do it. I just need more time and..."

"There is no more time!" exclaimed Aerith, letting out his frustration. Cloud frowned and looked at her, worried. The Queen shook her head and quickly apologized, "I'm sorry. It's just that it's been a long time since we left Midgar and we've accomplished almost nothing. Yes, the Army of the Dead has come back to life and I have discovered my power. But in Midgar people are still suffering and I want to see my brother again."

Cloud gently ran a hand over his forehead.

"I understand you. But I think we have made progress in due course. You know that we don't know the state of the city or your brother's reign and we must be well prepared to face everything.

"I know," whispered Aerith, anxiously. Cloud came a little closer and took her hands in his, a gesture that she thanked silently, for he had such a capacity to calm her restless heart with a single touch.

"Is everything all right?" he asked, worried.

She looked at him with some guilt for having been in denial for so long about how she felt.

"Since the ritual took place, everything has been a bit chaotic for me. I'm trying to understand myself, I need some time."

"I understand," he replied, "even though we've avoided the dangers so far, the risk will always be there. Even more so when we have come so far along the way," he added, stroking her cheek gently.

"Thank you for understanding me," she muttered, with a smile. Then the two of them stared at each other, in a silence that never became heavy for either of them, as if they were communicating in a much more spiritual way, beyond what words themselves could tell. And, as it always happened when this strange communication took place between them, the two approached each other physically, as if they were about to

"Aerith? was Jessie's voice on the other side of the door, ferociously breaking the atmosphere that had developed between the knight and the queen. "Are you in your room?"

"I think it's time to go. I have some other things to do. We'll talk later" he gave her a little kiss on the cheek and she couldn't help but blush slightly, although fortunately he didn't notice at the time.

"Okay. Yes, Jessie, come in," said Aerith, in a shaky voice.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked, with a certain mocking tone in her voice as she looked at the two of them, moving her eyebrows up and down.

"No, I was just leaving," said Cloud, saying goodbye to both of them and leaving.

When Cloud closed the door, Jessie began an emotional dance that Aerith couldn't help but laugh at.

"Are you all right, Jessie?

"I am! What about you? When is he going to propose?

"Jessie!" Aerith scolded her "Cloud is not...Cloud doesn't feel what you think. We became friends in a very difficult circumstance and that's why our relationship is so special. But he is someone I trust very much."

"Is that all?"

The question echoed in the green-eyed woman's mind for a short while. She had known Cloud for over a month and together they had been through many difficult times, but if Aerith stopped to think, she also had many beautiful and happy memories with him: they had shared confidences, opinions, laughter and hugs. There were jokes that only they could understand and she loved having that kind of complicity and special relationship that no one could have with another person. If she needed to make a decision that concerned her, it was Cloud she would ask for advice. But could she still fool herself when she said she only considered it a friendship?

The nights had been long, for some time, when she spent hours thinking about something Cloud had said to her, some gesture or look. There were nights when Cloud occupied her mind in general and her heart went faster than usual, as she longed to spend more time with him, to be closer, to have his arms around her more once in a while. That his lips...

"Yes, that is all," she replied, quickly trying to escape from the path her thoughts were following.

"It's all right, it's all right. Well, would you like to take a walk together? It's a beautiful day today."

*

The day had come. Aerith was sitting in the visiting room, accompanied by Cloud and Jessie, waiting for Nanaki to arrive with the famous Nigreos.

"It's taking a while," snorted Jessie.

"These things take time. Let's be patient and.."

But Aerith was interrupted when the doors of the room opened and Nanaki walked in, metamorphosing from his animal form to the human form in a matter of seconds.

"Aerith, Cloud, Jessie" she greeted, politely "Nigreos is waiting outside to be let in, Aerith. I request your permission to do so."

"Of course, Nanaki," she nodded, with a smile.

"Come in, Nigreos!"

A young man, nearly thirty years old, entered the room. His hair was very dark and wavy, short. His eyes were gray and he was dressed in clothes similar to those of a gladiator with silver and dark tones and leather pants. In his right hand, he carried a long staff surrounded by thorns and part of his muscular torso, which he wore half bare, was covered with scars. He was extremely handsome and carried a certain air of confidence that did not go unnoticed by anyone present.

Nigreos' gray eyes watched those present until they stopped to look at Queen Aerith, to whom he dedicated a slight smile before bowing gracefully. Cloud could not help but arch his eyebrow, crossing his arms.

"Your Majesty. Nanaki the Wizard had told me of your beauty and grace, but what is said does not do you justice".

"Thank you, but I don't think you came from a faraway place just to compliment me," said Aerith, with a soft smile. "You have a mission to accomplish. I hope Nanaki has brought you up to date on the situation".

"He explained to me... quite a bit. But even though my eyes have seen humans with three arms, winged horses and clouds spewing gold, until I see those dead people he told me about with swords and riding, I won't believe it."

"You don't believe the person you're going to work for? intervened Cloud, with skepticism. The two men exchanged glances loaded with different feelings: while the blond man felt a certain rejection towards him, for Nigreos to notice it increased his self-centeredness.

"Excuse me, Lord...?"

"Sir. Cloud Strife. I am not Lord".

"Ah, yes, Sir Cloud. Forgive me, Sir Cloud, but when someone like me engages in this kind of dangerous thing, skepticism becomes a security asset."

"I understand you, Sir Nigreos," Aerith intervened quickly when he saw that Cloud was going to continue the little contest. "If you like, you can come with me and I will show you my army.

"My queen, do not call me Sir. I am only a warrior, I have never been knighted. And, I think it's a great idea. I look forward to meeting them."

"Then do not call me my queen. Call me Aerith. All right, come with me.”

Aerith approached Nigreos and guided him into the backyards where the Army of the Dead was already waiting.

When Nigreos first saw them, he couldn't help but be astonished. Aerith looked at him with a slight smile and said:

"It's impressive, isn't it?"

Nigreos nodded, examining them carefully. Horses were riding with part of their skin missing and their bones showing. In addition, the Warriors of Death had gray skin and long nailed hands, as well as deep black hair that matched marked circles under the eyes. However, their bearing was muscular and even, certainly elegant and mystical, and one could see through their veins the same green light that Aerith knew how to invoke, flowing through where there should be blood that no longer ran.

"I have never seen anything like it, and you say you brought it to life?

"That's right. I discovered this power almost by chance. Perhaps if I had never had to flee from Midgar, I would never have known I had it."

"Nanaki explained to me about your power. It is a magnificent phenomenon. Who knows how many centuries and generations will come before we see something like this."

"You praise me too much, Nigreos."

"I only speak the truth," he replied, staring at her. Nigreos had a rather impressive gaze, the kind of eyes that pierce and burn inside. Aerith was curious to know how many fantastic and incredible things those gray orbs had witnessed.

"Well. So, do you think you can train them?"

"I can try. But I think these Warriors need someone else to train them, too."

"Someone else? But, I thought that you... "she started, worried, but stopped when Nigreos laughed slightly.

"I mean you, Aerith."

"Me?"

"You brought them to life. You are that ultimate authority which they must obey. You are their queen."

"What do you propose then?"

"I think it best that I teach you how to train them. But it is you who will do it. You will be not only their queen, but also their commander."

" Their commander..." repeated Aerith in a whisper.

"You were powerful enough to create them, why shouldn't you be powerful enough to lead them?"

"I thought you could help Cloud instead.

Nigreos smiled with some arrogance.

"I could. But a Queen has to be prepared for the fight. And you are going to have to fight a lot, according to the story Nanaki told me.

Aerith pondered this for a few moments before making her decision.

*

"Commander?" Cloud repeated, frowning.

"That's right. Nigreos has convinced me and I think it's a good idea. I think I need to be completely involved in this mission," explained Aerith, crossing her arms.

"I don't doubt it. But, I thought he could handle the situation on his own. Didn't he say he had seen winged horses and more lies? Then why can't he fulfill his mission?"

"Cloud, I notice that something is bothering you and you don't want to tell me."

"Nothing bothers me," he lied. "I just don't understand why you're so interested in being together all the time, besides..."

"Cloud" interrupted Aerith, raising a hand "listen. Nigreos has come here to help us. If he understands this dark magic, we will let him advise us and no one else. Sometimes it is good to listen to the advice of others."

"But..."

"And one more thing. I don't want tantrums like the ones you were about to start in the visiting room."

The blond man opened his mouth several times to respond, but finally, he was silent and looked away in frustration.

"Nigreos will help you practice fighting. I want you in my ranks when we return to Midgar. I couldn't trust anyone else but you," she added, trying to soften the tense atmosphere that had developed.

"Of course," replied Cloud, sarcastically, leaving without another word and leaving Aerith puzzled.

*

Several days passed since that discussion about which Cloud and Aerith had never spoken again.

The first days of training with Nigreos were hard. Although Aerith was a good student, she had never wielded a sword or led an army, only had her power. Nigreos had explained to her that he would practice with a sword until he found the perfect weapon for a Queen, with which he could also evoke her mysterious power.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Cloud and Nigreos neither improved nor worsened. It was simply non-existent. Nigreos tried to be friendly to Cloud as much as possible, but the latter was a closed book that did not make it easy to approach. Aerith was aware of this and although she tried to make both men friendly, she could not force her knight to consider Nigreos his friend.

Aerith also noted that the relationship with Cloud had broken down slightly since the warrior's arrival in their lives and that this was something that she felt deeply about. They hardly talked as much as before and he didn't visit her from time to time, and she had become distant as well by spending so much time with Nigreos in training. But Aerith justified her behavior with something that was the most important thing in that moment of her life: to become someone powerful who could recover her people and above all, her brother, whose dream was repeated over and over again as an anguishing message of alarm.

Among so many chores, Aerith had almost lost track of time and one day he was surprised when Jessie told him

"Aerith, happy birth anniversary!"

"Oh," exclaimed the queen, surprised, as she embraced the one who had become a sister to her.

On the night of Aerith's birthday, they held a small ceremony in her honor. She looked beautiful that day, with a blue silk dress and loose hair. Everyone came to the celebration, filling the queen with affection and gifts, and she thanked everyone who approached her with a hug or a caress.

The party went on until sunset, when songs in the language of the villagers of Cosmo Canyon began to play and wine and cakes were served.

"Jessie" said Nanaki, approaching her to engage in conversation "will your dream of building an orphanage still stand when you return to Midgar? 

Jessie sighed:

"That's right. I'd like nothing better. I left Midgar very young because I didn't stand a chance there. How many children like me won't be suffering right now? I would like to spare them that suffering.

"That's very generous of you. But, I think you will want to be like a teacher to them. So... you will have to learn to read and write.

"Oh...how...how do you know?" Jessie asked, blushing.

"Aerith told me that you left Midgar when you were nine. The children of Midgar who are not noble learn to write and read at eleven. And from your long stay at Mideel I understand that you did not learn. But it is nothing to be ashamed of. I will teach you myself."

"Really? Thank you Nanaki! I couldn't have a better teacher than you!"

The two continued to enjoy the party. Aerith, on the other hand, looked at Cloud, who was talking to some villagers, and their glances crossed for a moment. She gave him a smile that he responded to slightly, but he didn't seem to be having a very good time.

The Queen tried to approach him when she was intercepted by Nigreos.

"Aerith. Happy Day of Birth" she smiled.

"Thank you, Nigreos. To tell you the truth, if it hadn't been for Jessie I would have forgotten.

"I understand. So many responsibilities keep us from thinking clearly. I'd like to propose a dance, do you accept?"

Aerith didn't want to be rude to Nigreos, so she accepted. He had proved to be a nice and kind man, so why not spend some time with him?

The two danced to the rhythm of tribal music together, while Cloud watched them with resignation. He shook his head and set aside his glass of wine, leaving for the low mountains that were somewhat removed from the celebration.

*

The sunset looked beautiful from that position. Cloud let his blue eyes wander over the landscape, enjoying it, away from the murmur of the music and the voices of the people, breathing slowly.

"I thought you would be enjoying the party with the others".

Aerith's voice sounded smiling and tender behind him, and the blond man closed his eyes with a serene expression.

"I'm not the best person for a party.

Aerith giggled.

"You are wrong. I would have liked you to be with the others. But, well, I also enjoy being here with you."

She intertwined her fingers with his gently and looked at the sunset, admiring the beauty of the landscape and the lights.

"I don't want us to be angry, Cloud. I don't like being like this."

The blond man stared at her, under the orange light of the sunset she was so ethereally beautiful that even his heart ached. But what she was about to tell him also hurt. Words that burned his soul inside, silenced by his duty.

"I know, and that is why I have made a decision.

"I'm listening," she said, looking at him with a loving smile.

"When..." he began "when your father died, I made an unwavering oath."

She nodded her head, urging him to continue and trying not to think about all the memories and images of that day.

"There are only three things I had to do: protect you, never sully your honor, and never fall in love with you," the knight explained. Aerith's eyes danced back and forth as she felt her heart exploding. "And I failed in one of the three things."

Cloud plunged his blue eyes into her green ones and Aerith opened her mouth, completely surprised as she heard her own heart beating in her ears. The words fought hard to come out of her mouth, but it was impossible.

"I have not fulfilled my oath. And an honorable knight must retire when he does not do things right. I will not stop loving you. It is impossible. But I will only be an obstacle here."

Aerith shook her head slightly, unable to say anything.

"I know you will get Midgar back. I have seen all that you can do. I..." he raised his hand in a frustrated attempt to stroke her face one last time, but stopped.

"Goodbye, Aerith."

Cloud left without saying anything else and the queen didn't even dare turn around to see him leave for the last time, while only the falling sun witnessed the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH this ending of chapter!! I don't know how to feel about it!! What is going to happen next?? See you soon!! Thank you for the love and support this story receives!!! :D


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